Human
by rddrgn
Summary: Amiena is a young girl that has been kidnapped and sold with a group of girls that are regularly beaten and raped. One night when they escape everything goes wrong but before Amiena can die Godric is there to save her. This doesn't follow any seasons and Eric is Godric's only child. Sookie and Bill are together and their relationship has progressed to the point of season two.
1. Chapter 1

Drop.

Drop.

Drop.

The smell of the water dropping fills my nostrils like a bomb has gone off a mile away. The thought of water seems as foreign a concept as freedom. The only source of hydration we have had for over two months have been someone's old beer or the last drips of alcohol in a glass or the snow that drips in from the hole.. They shut off the water leading to the basement for winter. They needed to save money for the heat. We were the ones that had to sacrifice.

"Next time you bite my dick I'm going to rip your fucking neck out."

I hide deeper into the corner away from the hole in my cell and wrap my arms around myself so that he can't hit me. If I'm a small fleck of dust there's no reason for him to get me. I hear a body hit the ground but I don't look until the door has been slammed shut and the only source of light is gone. Now is when I crawl to the bars that are too big to keep us in and I watch as Allie lifts the girl.

It's Benita.

A whimper escapes my mouth because Benita is always the strongest, she's always the one that doesn't get hit because she's fiesty enough to get away with saying no. But here she lays in Allie's arms weak and bleeding. My hands cover my nose because I can smell the blood from all the way over here. Cally comes forward from her cell to touch Allie's arm. She leans in and whispers something and this is when Allie's face shoots up and looks at me.

I cringe backwards behind the bars. Allie is so much wiser than us. She is so smart and she knows how to make them less angry and how to bargain with them so they don't hurt us. She knows how to get food from the tables and sneak them for us. She takes care of us but she doesn't speak to me because I am weak. She doesn't like me because I am the only one that hasn't felt the harsh touch of the men.

"Amiena...," she's at my bars and I can see her strong hand around one of them. I can see her fingers from the pale moonlight that peaks in through the little window. She whispers, "We have to escape tonight."

"No," I wrap my arms around myself again. How can they escape? We are the ones that have replaced the last girls to have escaped. They were masacred before us. How do they want that again?

"They are going to replace us with a new group...That's why they are hurting us more and more. Didn't Nelson hit you today?" she asks because she knows it's true. Upstairs a guest grabbed my waist but I slipped away and he slapped me across the face. It still hurts, "And they never hurt you, because you are so small and so young...but he did."

"How's Benita?" I ask softly as I peak my head forward to look at her.

"She's in bad shape...everyone's just waiting on you," her voice is still level and calm. I don't know how she can do it.

"Who's left?" tears come to my eyes as I gaze across empty cells to girls that...that didn't make it.

"It's just me, you, and Amni, Benita, Bria, and Briana, and Cally, Cassy, and Catty," she answers without looking. There are so few left, "That's it. That's not scary right? We can get through without them noticing."

I look into Allie's face, she's so nice and so calm as if this isn't a big deal at all. I have to believe her. I nod my head with a smile, "Yeah...we can get away."

Allie smiles for the first time I have ever seen her and I feel confident. Allie turns behind and gives a nice thumbs up before slipping through the bars to join me. I back up against the wall and watch the other girls fill into the cell. It's so small now with so much people filling it up but it gets big again very quickly. Allie crawls out into the freezing snow that I can feel from far away but she sticks her head back out and smiles, "Come out, the weather's perfect."

A little laugh works its way out of my mouth and I have to follow. I crawl out into the snow and am completely enveloped in the cold that surrounds me. My feet are frozen and I realize that none of us have any protection against this weather or the thirty men that wait inside and out. But I can't think about that. I have to be strong and positive for the girls with me. I am a completely different person now. I can pretend that I'm bigger than what I am because I have a group to surround me. We lean against each other and hold on tight to keep up the wounded and to warm up the cold. We have a good quiet system going and we make it two miles away...until the unthinkable happens.

A noise like a little whizzing fly goes by and we look behind but the real stuff is in front. Cally falls to the ground and a red stream of liquid waterfalls to splash over the white blanket ahead. The others scream but the sight of the red on white fills my mind and I can't get a sound out of my mouth. I had met Cally before, she let me borrow her sweater.

There has to be a way to save her.

I drop to my knees beside her and turn her over onto her back but her face is a complete mess. I push my hands forward and try to put the mush that is her skull back together but all it does is slip through my fingers. She's dead, Cally's dead in less than a second.

Another whizzing noise comes again and I duck my head and it doesn't hit me. Red splatters over me and I gasp as Bria drops to the ground. Allie grabs my arm and screams, "Run!"

I jump to my feet and begin to run but I can't help but to drop to my feet and hide behind a tree. Men run from everywhere and nowhere at once and they grab the girls or they hit them or they shoot and it all happens at once so fast I can't tell who I can help or who is too far gone. The girls that are alive and free run away and I think I should be one of them, I should escape, but the laughing is everywhere and the shots are flying past.

Before I can blink a man grabs me from my hiding place but I don't wait for him to act. I shove the base of my palm into his nose and once his grip weakens I slip out, grab his gun, and run forward through the snow without touching it, so fast I feel like I'm flying. There is a harsh scream and I look to see Amni under a man, being raped. I can't let that happen. I pick up the gun I stole from the man and shoot the guy on top of her and he is blown backwards off of her.

I run to her and help her to her feet and push her away and she doesn't wait, she goes.

I hear Allie scream for help and I turn around in time to see her on the ground and her face being kicked in by a man above. I'm stunned for a moment...Allie...but I'm awake now and I see Benita being dragged and someone else being pushed and I shoot the men doing it, I shoot them all and they drop straight down.

And I think I'm doing well, I'm doing so well but a loud shriek of anguish brings me to my senses and I realize there is no way to get out of here. There is no way to stop this. My eyes jump to the shriek and it's Cassy. I try to close my eyes to block out the image but I can't, it's right there. Her leg is twisted and bent and broken in a bear trap that looks so old and so big and so terrible. Are there more around?

A big guy runs to her but I shoot him down too as I run forward to help Cassy. To my left I catch a glimpse of Catty being beaten and I stop to take a shot but there are no bullets left in the gun and I'm all done. Before I can think of how to get another a pain shoots through my leg so crazy I fall to the ground because I can't move at all. I try not to cry because everything gets all blurry but it hurts so bad. But Cassy is crying so loud and I still have to help her. I drag myself to her and I bite my lip to keep in the cries so I can make it to her. My hands grab the iron trap and I begin to pull as hard as I can to get the mouth apart and it does and thats when I see the leg. It doesn't even look like a leg. It looks like shredded meat.

"Go! Go! Go!" I scream as I push her forward and I try to follow but I feel so weak and my leg hurts to bad. Someone runs up to us and pulls Cassy from her feet and I grab at her but before I can make it something solid hits the back of my head and everything goes black.

...

The first thing I hear is screams...but it's not girl screams...it's men screams.

I try to blink my eyes but everything in my body hurts. I don't want to wake up. I want the deep dark sleep that doesn't hurt so much and I want the warmth. I'm so cold in the snow that surrounds me like a casket and falls on top of me. I try to move but it's impossible...it's impossible.

Silence.

The screaming of the men has suddenly come to an end and just as sudden it hits me. I know why they're screaming. It's what Benita had talked about...it's him...it's Death. I start to recoil but the simple shivering hurts my body so much. I can't. I know it's Death and I know he's coming for me. Fear grips me hard. I don't want to die. I knew we shouldn't have escaped and now he's coming for me.

And there he is. Death is here at an instant but he is different from what Benita described. She said he would wear a black robe and would carry something called a sickle and that no one could see his face. But I could see his face now in the moonlight. He was so handsome and under the light and with the snow it looked like he glowed. This picture of Death was more realistic...everyone wants to see something beautiful before they go.

I waited patiently for the handsome Death to kill me but there was no motion except for the drops of blood that dropped down his chin and onto his body. The more I looked at him and the more he looked at me the more my heart beat got faster and faster and the more blood went everywhere.

To break the silence I ask the question I already know the answer to, "Are you Death?"

In a voice more amazing than I had ever heard, in a voice calm and not forceful and not angry but patient he answers, "I am."

I blink a little and look at him and now that the haze leaves my eyes I see him and I'm confused. There's not even hair on his face, not even a little, "But you're so young."

"I'm not," he replies with the kindest smile, almost modest.

It's too much for me to see this Death. I close my eyes and ask, "The men...my sisters...?" but I can't finish my sentence.

"Dead."

His answer is final and strong and I cringe again but it hurts so bad but not as bad as knowing they're gone. The girls, Allie, Cassy, I couldn't save them. Tears hit my eyes and everything gets blurry again. I couldn't do a thing.

"I was watching you this night," his voice brings my attention back to him and the tears fall backwards so I can see again. He has another smile on his face and for some reason I feel like I'm going to blush, "I never saw anyone fight like you...So selfless and brave for someone so small."

Is he talking about me? Brave? Selfless? I wasn't any of those things. My eyes jump to him to protest but I'm lost again in his face his handsomness and everything about him. All I could manage to get out was, "But you're small too."

His smile breaks apart as a laugh escapes his mouth and now I'm really blushing with what ever blood is left in my body. Is laugh is like chimes on a windy day but with his mouth open I see something so scary. I see fangs,"I know. Isn't it wonderful."

I try to nod my head but the pain that fills it and runs through each vein screaming reminds me of something terrible. It reminds me that I am speaking to Death and that he is here to kill me, "What are you waiting for, Death? You have other people waiting. Just kill me."

I shut my eyes in my sentence so I don't see his reaction. I squeeze them as I wait for what ever it is he will do to get rid of me. But there is nothing. There's no action at all. I peak my eyes open and see he is completely different from how I left him. His eye brows are furrowed like he's thinking about a question that he's too afraid to ask. He looks like a shy boy, something I had never seen before in front of me and he opens his mouth slowly like he's embarresed of his next words...but they come out, "Could you be a companion of Death? Could you walk with me through the world...through the dark? I could..teach you all I know. I would be your father, your brother, your friend, your...lover."

I was already dead. This was what Heaven must feel like...this complete disbelief. But as I open my mouth I feel the pain going through it and I know I'm alive. All I can manage to ask is, "Why me?"

His face gets soft again like it did before he asked me his question but now he answers with a far away look, "To give us both something we desire. Life."

"Life?" I ask and it must be the tone in my voice or the look on my face or the smile in my eyes because he doesn't answer he only grins a soft grin I had never seen before. He has my answer.

He disappears but only for a second before I feel the sharp fangs dig into my neck. The pain makes everything go and then the pain goes too. I don't see what happens next but all I feel his soft liquid on my lips and I hear his voice far away shouting, "Hurry! Drink!"

I can't deny death.

I listen and I drink.


	2. Chapter 2

Darkness.

Change.

Cold, warmth.

Light...No Light.

Arms...Death.

Suffocation, movement.

Whisper.

"Don't move. You are not ready yet."

Silence.

Darkness.

Soil.

Cold, warmth.

Change.

...

The darkness-darkness everywhere-is the first thing I notice decepite the cold. The next I notice is the change-change everywhere-and the panic screams that come from my mouth and my fear and my change and my lonliness and the dirt that fills my nose and trickles into my nostrils and the moving that doesn't stop not once.

I...no not "I" not "me," something better...stronger...faster...smarter..dead...alive.

I stand but it's less than standing. It isn't that I move it's that the world shrinks so that I can ascend. I don't just stand, I shift the elements that surround me with demand and they obey. I feel the dirt slide off of me but the dirt doesn't just slide. Every mineral jumps off of my skin and falls onto the ground to clean me and not displease me in anyway.

Out of my empty home and free of the soil that had covered me my body becomes exposed..but it's not my body. It's better...stronger...faster...The wind comes like a frightened bird to study me, the new creature. It comes past me and around me without touching me but I want it to feel me. I lift my arms...not my arms...and the wind creates a dance that I join in and it wraps around me and holds me and falls around me like silk scarves and ribbons that no one can see, just playing with me.

Shift.

My head spins in the direction of Earth that was just shifted under someone's foot and it is now that I'm aware that I'm not alone. Bashfully I realize that I am with Death and that he is watching me. Memories fill my mind of our last encounter but the strangest thing is that it doesn't occupy my mind...not my mind, better stronger faster smarter...I can remember him and focus on the way the leaves wave to welcome me and the actions that take place in each little pigment and the clothes that Death wears that are so nice and new. I can do so much more with the space inside this mind. I can think and shiver at his frightening handsome glory and remember at the same time.

Slowly my eyes climb the contors of his face until they meet his own and it's like I have exploded into a million different emotions that fill me and hurt me, so different from my emotions because they are not my emotions...they're stronger, harder, scarier, and impossible to control. The only way I can manage is to drop my eyes back onto the soil I had emerged from and which he stands on now. Not even his shoes are dirty. It's like the ground is afraid of him, and why shouldn't it be? Nothing is safe from Death.

Another shift.

I realize now he is waiting for me to do something but I have no idea what that can possibly be. I want to drop down at his feet and thank him for saving my life but he wont like that, I already know. The only other thing I can think of is the greetings they used to make us do in front of the guests. I take the edges of my dress, whoa! My dress! My old rags have been replaced by such a pretty short white dress that flows out in all directions and when I spin it goes up and up like Marilyn Monroe! Did he give this to me to?

I hear him laugh again, the same laugh like wind chimes and I stop instantly and fall into the curtsy I'm so use to doing. I wait with my right leg bent behind my left and my fingertips holding the edges of the dress and my head bent because I'm not worthy enough to look up into his eyes. No one is. But to my surprise I feel his hand, so strong and tender, rest under my chin and guide my face up, pulling my body with it. Oh Death. I feel as though my chest may explode again, I can't contain all my feelings. I'm so grateful and so scared and so happy but I can't explain the stuff his eyes do to me.

His eyes.

I remember them when I was dying before I was dead before I became what I am now. He asked me _Could you be a companion of Death? Could you walk with me through the world...through the dark? I could..teach you all I know. I would be your father, your brother, your friend, your...lover. _My brain goes crazy, a strange crazy I had never felt and my hands jump to my face to cover it as a shiver runs through me and I feel a sharp aching in my gums that cuts my hands. Did he remember that question? Did he remember that I said yes? I pull my hands away and see that I have small cuts the shape of holes but they disappear and I gasp. I touch my mouth and sure enough I find the things that made the holes...fangs...sharp fangs that cause the aches.

I look up at him and see his eyes no longer have their curiosity, now they show concern. I furrow my brows and ask, "Death?"

My voice...not my voice anymore now something far better, far stronger, and far more beautiful. So easy to speak, almost effortless.

"My name..." his voice runs through my body and awakens my blood so that it jumps and vibrates through out each vein that travels under my skin, "...is Godric."

The force of his name weighs down on me and brings me to my knees but before I can fall his arms surround me and they lift me up against him. His arms are so strong and his body radiates a heat that reminds me of the cold warm home I was in for so long. That place...it was him that was holding me.

"Take a moment," his voice is as patient and gentle as I remember but my body can't deny the command. "Don't try to move."

I wasn't aware that I did move or that I even tried to. Godric...his name is Godric. What a wonderful name? So much better than Death. As the seconds trickle by the vibrating slowly vanishes and now I use my strength to get back onto my feet. My eyes glance up to show that I am ready but slowly they begin to wander. They travel like little tourists up the curve of his neck and his chin and his lips and his nose and eyes and his face pulls away and my hands lunge forward and I gasp, realizing that my eyes weren't alone and they were guiding my hands. I drop my hands-wow! so fast-quickly in front of me and bow my head downward in submission because touching like that is punishable by beating. Quickly I let out a, "I'm sorry!"

But Godric doesn't hit me and he is just as quick with his reply "Do not apologize for your actions, if you do you will be apologizing all night. You will be consistantly behaving in ways you never imagined, it is to be expected."

Each word, each syllable, sends a shiver that runs through me and makes my knees go weak yet again and I just can't hold myself up. Is this what he means? What my body is doing? What's wrong with me? What have I become? I slump down but his arms are sitll around me so it's only far enough to rest my head on his chest. I feel my face get really hot and I think he must hear my heart go crazy but it doesn't. My heart isn't beating at all and neither is his! But how can that be? How is that possible?

I open my mouth to ask but my eyes get caught on something in the sky. I pull back slightly and raise my head with curiousity that quickly turns to awe. It's like the sky has become a velvet blanket of dark blue with holes poked through it to reveal a beautiful shinning world hiding behind it. It's so amazing. The closer I look the closer I can see the stars and they change from little holes to little balls and from little balls to little burning orbs and from burning orbs to flames and I realize now that everything is illuminated and there is no such thing as darkness anymore. I can see everything! And that even includes the vehicle that is pulling up into the cemetary.

I turn my head with interest but at that second I can smell lipstick that smells like the stuff they would make me put on even though I didn't like it. But this one smells like brownsugar like it was planed, it smells like a real woman and my eyebrows furrow and I get sad, I get real sad and real scared because I know Godric knows who it is. I look up at him to ask for an explanation but then he asks something of his own, "Are you ready to see your new kingdom?"

"My kingdom?" I repeat. I'm completely blown away. My kingdom? I have a kingdom? No, he's joking. I'm not special enough, I can't own anything and I'm no princess. Sure the girls called me princess because I wouldn't drink the drinks with the cigerattes stamped out in it but they weren't being mean. I wasn't a princess.

"Yes," my eyes stayed glued open as he speaks. There's a little secret smile that is bashful like the little boy that asked me to be his companion but he tries to be serious as he explains, "You are mine now. What is mine is yours and yours is mine."

"Really?" I can't believe it. He called me _his. _He said _You are mine now_. I take in a deep breathe and smell a wonderful mixture of Earth and lavander and I realize I had dug my face into his chest to hide my blush and had wrapped my arms around him in the form of such an awkward hug. I'm so embarresed because he's not even hugging me back! This must be what he meant, I don't know if I can keep doing this. I turn my head away and begin to pull back but before I can completely his arms tighten and I'm stuck. His arms start to melt into some kind of hug but he's so stiff..like he's never been hugged before. A feeling of complete saddness washes over me...how could he have never been hugged? Even I would recieve hugs from the other girls or some of the guests. Even I got some of those.

I hear the engine of the vehicle shut off at the same time Godric's arms pull away. I look up to him with a frown but I stop because his face has become serious. He asks again "Are you ready?"

And I nod my head, pulling my arms back so that I can stand strong like him too, "I'm ready."

Godric steps out of the grave that I hadn't realized we were in. I don't want to leave it. I want to lay in it again in Godric's arms but I can't. We have to go see the kingdom and I have to make him happy. I look around and try to imagine how I can possibly get out I don't see a way. How did he do it? His hand stretches downward for me to take and I can't help but to grin so wide because he didn't forget about me. His hand looks so big and so strong but I can't see how he can help me out but I take his hand anyway, just to feel the touch, and it was the right thing to do. As soon has my skin touches his a current hits me like I've been struck by lightning and I close my eyes to hold onto it because it feels so good. I peak my eyes open to see if he can feel it to but when I do I'm shocked to see that I'm not in the grave, I'm standing beside him next to it.

A laugh jumps out of my through and it tickles my stomach and my body so much that I keep on doing it. I try to cover my mouth with my other hand but as soon as I touch my lips I feel the tickling all over again and I laugh even more and as if that wasn't enough it's like flood gates have been opened and all the funny things that ever happened to me start to replay in my mind and now I'm laughing even more and I can't stop!

"What is so funny?" Godric asks and the tone in his voice makes me look at him and he has this funny expression like he wants to laugh but he's scared I'm laughing at him and that's hilarious because how can I laugh at him?

I shake my head to answer his unspoken question and I open my mouth but nothing comes out. What am I laughing at? I can't possibly explain everything because most of the things I think are funny no one esle does. Instead I lower my face and answer with, "That was very fast."

I peak up and now he has this smile that's so silly because he knows I wasn't laughing, "You can move much faster than that now."

As if to demostrate he takes a step and I follow and it's true! I can move so fast! I open my mouth to say something like "wow!" but in the movement I'm reminded of something so wonderful I start to blush again and I keep my face down. Quietly I add, "You're still holding my hand."

"I can stop if you would like me to," his voice sounds calm but I can feel a mix of amusement and fear and embarresment and nervousness and they are such weird feelings I don't know where they came from.

I shake my head gently and answer in a way that makes it seem like if he did stop I would crack and then shatter and explode all over the ground and then melt into it and burn holes straight down across to the other side of the planet, "No."

All the feelings I felt before instantly vanish and I smile because I'm too embarresed to look at him and see if he's smiling too. He begins to walk again and I follow but it takes me a little while because walking feels so...so odd! It's like I'm walking on a conveyor belt on high speed but I know the ground is still. It feels like I'm not walking at all. It feels like I'm just...gliding.

I would indulge in the feeling of walking, I would run around in a circle, but as we get to the car the lipstick smell because like a cloud of posion that I can smell everywhere and I'm afraid, I'm so afraid that I will smell it on him and I'm so scared because that will really break my heart.

"What is troubling you?" Godric asks in a voice so low, less than a whisper I'm amazed I can hear it.

I shake my head and can't help but to pout as the woman steps from around the car. She is so tall, a little taller than Godric and much taller than me. She's wearing a tight outfit made out of black that shows everyone the curves that she has and I don't and the lipstick is so pretty on her lips and her eyes are so gorgeous and she looks so perfect like a runway model and I know she's prettier than me and if she were with me and the other girls she would be picked out to live with them in the nice area where the really beautiful women live.

The woman opens her mouth and in such a beautiful voice with such a pretty accent like Benita's but better she asks, "It is complete?"

Godric's hand releases mine and he steps forward as he answers, "Yes, Isabel. I-" before I know it I'm pressed against I'm in Godric's arms with my own pinned against me and he in an angry voice he asks, "Amie! What is the meaning of this?"

Slowly the few seconds trickle in and I realize that I had tried to attack Isabel but she simply took my arm and spun me back in Godric's direction. Oh no! Now he is going to be upset with me and he's going to leave me somewhere all alone because he hates me because I tried to kill his girlfriend and I don't know what's worse that he hates me or that he loves her more than me or that my knees are jello because he said my name for the first time and it was when he yelled at me and he gave me a nickname that my family used to call me when they were happy with me and that no one has called me in so long. I shake my head and try to answer, "I'm so sorry! I don't know why it's like I didn't even do it I was and you were and you!"

"I am to blame for this?" his voice is soft and his face is completely still, so still that I'm so scared frightened.

I shake my head quickly like an Etchy-Sketch trying to get rid of the last few minutes but it doesn't work, "No! No! I just...I! I got jealous of your girlfriend because she's prettier than me!"

I dig my head into his chest because I don't want to see is reaction. I'm so embarresed. How could I ever think and not think at the same time that he meant what he said about me being his...it's too stupid to think.

I turn my head a little and mumble, "I'm sorry, Isabel."

I expect her to say it's alright or something but there is no answer and I think maybe they are really really mad at me and I did something that is unforgivable. I turn my head a little to peak at her and this is when I see that her hand is over her mouth and she is trying not to laugh. I'm completely confused. I look up at Godric and he has a similar expression except he is hiding it deep down and he is trying to look calm and composed when really I think he is kind of happy and nervous. He shakes his head and says, "Isabel is not my girlfriend."

It is now that Isabel becomes unable to hide her laughter and she begins to laugh in a way like Godric's. In a way that seems like they don't get laughs much often, in a way that seems that when they do laugh it's because something is truly amusing. And now I relax and I pull away from Godric's hold and start to smile because she's NOT his girlfriend!

Isabel's laughing stops but she still has her smile as she asks, "What is your name?"

"Amie," I answer quietly because I want Godric to keep calling me that and it doesn't sound right unless he says it.

She nods her head with a smile that becomes more professional, "You don't have to apologize, Amie, I was new once aswell and I remember on my first night I believe I destroyed a building with my bare hands."

"A whole building?" I ask with amazement.

She nods her head again, "A whole building."

Godric's voice interjects and I lower my head because everything has become serious again, "Shall we continue."

"Yes, Sheriff," Isabel says as she opens the back door, waiting for us to get in but I'm too focused on what she called him. Sheriff?

His hand touches my lower back to guide me forward but it's like he lit a firecracker in me and I jump into the backseat. There is a second before he follows and I know something has happened between him and Isabel. Maybe a smile or a shrug or another laugh, I don't know. What I do know is the car smells so lovely like Isabel's lipstick like brownsugar and Godric is sitting very close to me. I try not to focus on how close he is and instead I look around at the cream colored seats that are outlined in a red color that looks like blood.

I look up at Godric and ask something that has bugged me since I heard the car in the first place, "Why are we driving? I feel like...I don't know...like I can go anywhere with just my feet."

"You can. You may very well travel the entire globe in one evening without feeling the slightest fatigue but considering the circumstances it is much safer if we travel without much attention," Godric always has answer but I want to ask, what circumstances but I can't because my voice is stuck in my throat because on a turn I accidently bumped into him and my fingers touched his and he still hasn't moved his hand.

I remember one time one of the guests grabbed my hand when everything was quiet and he made me sit with him in the parlor on the red sofa. All the lights were off and it was dawn and he made me sit until the sun came up while he was crying. I was so afraid I didn't look at him or move all I did was see the sun come up in front of me and all I did was wish I was a white bird so I could fly into the changing sky and become something beautiful. That was the first time someone held my hand in secret like this. This was different from when we were walking and he held my hand, that was for assistance and this...this was for pleasure.

Before I am aware the car comes to a complete stop. I look out the window so I can try to figure out where we are but I can't tell a thing except there's no snow and I'm in a quiet neighborhood with houses that look lovely but empty and I'm no where from close to where he found me. I hear talking and I realize that Godric and Isabel have left the car and I'm still way behind. I get out and stand between them, easily the smallest, and fall in love with my castle.


	3. Chapter 3

Isabel and Godric speak but there is no way I can possibly listen, not when my new home stands in front of me looking so cool and so amazing. My new home? Is it my new home? It has to be, I can't take being torn from it after I have already become attached. Already I can see myself staring out the huge windows for Godric to return from his long days of what ever it is he does. Oh the windows. They were like large blocks that surrounded the house and the house itself! It wasn't large like a castle but it was regal in its subtle appearance that made it stand out. While all the other houses were on the ground level up close to the street this one was so far back and had huge arching trees that covered the pathways like a dome over the whole large estate and it was so easy to go over the house because it was a ranch and doesn't have any stupid extra floors for extra people. This house is just for me and Godric, I can already tell.

"Are you positive you would like no assistance?" Isabel's question brakes me from my observing of the house and fills me with confusion. Why would he need assistance? Is he in danger?

I turn around to look at them and make it just in time to see Godric's smile, not a smile that I had seen before but a smile nonetheless, as he answers, "No, I am fine. Return to Hugo?"

"Hugo?" I didn't mean to ask but the question just popped out of my mouth.

Isabel's amused smile returns to her features and she nods with a far away look that makes her look so much prettier, "Yes. Hugo is my human companion."

"Human companion?" that question I did mean to ask.

Her brows furrow softly and I see Godric has the same expression as if they are both attempting to figure out how to explain it to me. I lower my face in shame, should I already know the answer to this question? I lift my head up to apologize but before I can Isabel answers with a blush I never thought I'd see on her face, "My boyfriend."

A gasp escapes my mouth but it's not because I'm shocked it's because I'm so happy. It's like a bubble filled with joy bursted inside of my chest and I can't help but to smile even though they both look at me with such confusion but how can they not be happy that she has a boyfriend and has no chance of being Godric's lover. How can they not want to celebrate? I close my mouth and nod my head and smile, "Oh."

They turn away from me but not before I see a hint of a blush on Godric's face. Am I seeing things? Isabel bows her head before him as she says, "Thank you, Sheriff."

He nods his head but doesn't reply after that. Instead he turns to me as Isabel drives away, I didn't even see her get into the car, and leads me through across the walkway that looks like stone lilly pads on a green pond but I can't enjoy it because we're walking on that conveyer belt again and we're inside the house before I even know it. Godric presses buttons on some panel and every light in the house turns on revealing the beauty that is inside. It looks like some fairytale cottage with everything made out of stone and glass and grey and white and colors of the Earth instead of gross gold and red and colors that don't even match. Here, in this home there's a fire place that burns so beautifully and I can hear the flames that are scary and nice at the same time and I can hear the hum of the lightbulbs and smell the cleanness of the house that means it hasn't been occupied. It's perfect.

I look up at Godric and see he's watching me again and then I realize I've been running around touching everything. He opens his mouth to say something but I speak first and ask in a quiet voice, "Sheriff?"

His lips are a soft line that curve at the edges like a smile is locked inside and can't get out, "In due time I will explain everything to you. For now, what do you think of your new ho-?"

"I love it!" the phrase jumps out of my mouth but this time I'm not afraid because he starts to laugh. I look at the house and throw my hands up to show him what I mean, "Look at it! It's so perfect! It's so beautiful it's like it's here but it's not here at the same time! It's like a fairy tale! It's everything I've ever wanted! And the outside! Wow! I can imagine how pretty everything will look in the sun!"

It's like someone hit poor Godric in the stomach the way his smile crumbles. My hands cover my face and I begin to tremble because I said something wrong and I know he's going to hit me and I deserve it too! I'm so stupid, I shouldn't talk, I should go back to how it was before just one or two word answers, never enough to get me into trouble.

"I'm so sorry!" I whisper between my fingers and I wait for the hit but again it doesn't come.

Instead of a hard fist I feel Godric's warm arms drape around me, melting my fear and making my hands fall because my bones have become silly putty. I smell the Earth and lavander scent because he's close to me again and he's holding me up but it's impossible for me to look at because I'm jelly with his touch. I feel his breath as he sighs, "Why do you cower before me like a slave to his master and whip? Do I frighten you that much?"

"No!" I shake my head quickly as I look up at him but his eyes catch me by surprise and I have to look down again. I can't be serious and look into his eyes because they're so crazy and so special and so nice and so many different things I can't believe. "It's just...I'm scared."

"Of what?" my face blooms into a smile because he sounds so genuine and I can't believe he really wants to know why I'm so afraid. I peak up at him and see he's smiling as well but his brows furrow and he sounds so confused when he asks, "Why are you smiling?"

"I don't know," I lower my head into his chest so that he can't see that I'm smiling and because I don't want to have to answer that question. I let out a sigh and grin wider because it feels so good, the air escaping my lungs and then I realize that I've been breathing this whole time! Before I would notice my breathing because it always made so much noise when I was trying to hide or be quiet but now it was so silent as if I wasn't even breathing at all. And sighing! Sighing felt like a small tornado leaving my mouth and entering the world, it felt so nice. "They would hit us...if we did something wrong."

"They hit you?" His body and his voice change into something so scary but I'm not afraid he's going to hurt me, i'm afraid he's going to hurt someone else.

"No," I answer honestly. They used to not hit me but they would threaten me and they would grab me really hard and almost hit me but Allie or one of the guests would stop them and they would protect me. The last night didn't count, I don't want him to think about that, "But they would hit the other girls so hard and they would come back to the cellar broken and beaten up so badly and sometimes they would say they were going to hit me but really they just pushed me and swore at me a little but the other girls would defend me and they would get hit instead and I'm sorry but I'm just scared I'm going to wake up and I'm going to be back there and some part of that makes me happy because the other girls will still be alive but It makes me really sad to think about that because that means that you aren't real."

Godric doesn't reply.

"I shouldn't have said anything, it's so stupid to really think about because I don't even know I why I'm still afraid, I really don't think anything could hurt me ever ever again," I spit out before he has the chance to kick me out of my new home.

"They can't," Godric says and I look up at him to see his eyes are dark and scary but his features are soft like Allie's used to be when she was taking care of someone that had just gotten hurt. "No one will ever lay an unwanted hand upon you. Is that understood?"

I want to shake my head and say that's impossible. Even though I feel so strong and so fast and I feel like I can do everything I never thought I could, staying completely out of harms way seemed like a fantasy. But then again...I think of Godric's offer that I did gladly accept. _Fatther, brother, friend...lover_. This was a fantasy...why couldn't that be apart of it too. I nod my head and smile up at him, "Understood."

A great smile of his own jumps onto his face and I can't help but to giggle as he says in a very excited tone, "Good. Now, come. I have been waiting all evening to present to you my gift."

"More presents?" I ask with such suprize. Why was he giving me so much? My new life, my new home, and now more new stuff!

He nods his head but they he does it makes him look like a king, the same way he looked when he spoke to Isabel, and pulls his arms away from me and gestures down a hallway I hadn't noticed before, "Yes. Follow me."

Before I can get grumpy by him not holding my hand the lights in the room turn on and I scream, "Oh my goodness!"

The room that I stand in is not only a closet but a dressing room and a make up room and a tailor room and there are mirrors and shelves with jewelry and shoes and accesories and hats and gloves and make up but that's not what is so amazing! The amazing thing is the row upon row of dresses on racks that are so beautiful that I can't believe they are for me. I go through each row and I touch the dresses and the clothes and I hold them against me and I wrap them around me and I close my eyes and breathe in the smell of each one and I fall in love with every color because there is so much and I think this can't be for me, this has to be for a princess.

"Is this for me?" I ask hidden at the center of a rack of fur coats that still smell like wild and wilderness and the hunt.

"Yes," I drag myself out of the coats so I can see him as he speaks. The one word promised a smile and it did not disappoint. Godric stands in the doorway with his eyes low and his hands in his pockets. His face is hinted with a pink glow that makes him look like the blushing shy boy that asked me to be his companion. So handsome, "I was uncertain what clothing you would enjoy so I requested that Isabel get everything."

"Godric?" my voice sounds like I'm going to cry but in fact I already am. Never has anyone taken so much care of me. Not even when I was a little girl and I was far away from the bad men.

"Amie?" Concern fills his features and that makes me cry even more. Why does he care so much?

"Thank you so mu-" my voice stops. My fingertips have blood on them but I can't figure out why. I'm not cut and even if I was I would heal right? That's what happened before in the cemetary. "Am I...Do I cry blood?"

"Amie," Godric takes my hand and wipes away the blood there on his sleeve. I see him take in a deep breath as if he is trying to figure something out. His hand tenderly rests on my cheek and it's like a bomb has detonated inside of my body. It started the contact of skin on skin and then slowly the explosion grew over every surface until now that I'm a bare rainforest. "You are vampire now."

"Vampire?" my eyes shoot up to his but it is the wrong thing to do. I'm blown backwards like the man I shot in the snow on top of Amni and I can't move at all. His eyes...his eyes are an awesome shade of blue that are so much more than blue. They look like two endless blue skies in the middle of summer with no cloud to block out the joy of the sun with no chance of rain. They look like two different neptunes, like two different water worlds where in one I rest on the surface of the forever ocean and let it drag and pull me where ever it will go and in the other I divide the seas with a sail boat and I own it. But oh his eyes...they sparkle like those far away stars and they see so much and have seen so much.

"Yes. You are a member of the immortal, the strong, the elite. But your transformation has come with a price. You will no longer feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, you will no longer be able to walk through the streets with ease for you will be constantly fighting the urge to consume and destroy all that is around you. You will no longer feel the comforting beat of your heart and you will no longer be able to indulge in quiet cries for your tears are no visible to all. You are an enemy to many now, Amie, but you are a very powerful aid to those who do accept you," Godric's tone is soft and gentle like he's explaining to a small child that she has lost everything when in fact the exact opposite has been done to me. I can't understand why he delievers this wonderful news in such a bitter way as if I would hit him or something silly like that.

"Vampire," I repeat the word and let it roll around in my mouth and in fact it feels correct...like I've just put a missing piece to a puzzle. I repeat another word that he mentioned along with a question that has been waiting for an answer, "Immortal...that means I live forever...with you?"

His face transforms completely from the worried king to the blushing boy that I've only seen so far in rare occasions. I can't help but to smile so wide as I see him look away from me and drop his hand and try to recover, which he does by saying sternly, "For as long as you would like but that should not concern you now. Go find a dress to change into, I will have the one you wear sent out to be washed."

At the words "go find a dress" I was already lost in my labyrinth of material. I had stripped off my dress and now ran back and forth between racks to find the perfect dress in the perfect color but they're all so pretty I want to wear them all at the same time! It seems like such a lost cause to find only one dress to wear, I'm so discouraged that I might just give u-

My eyes zoom in on a white dress caught between a lavender one and a dusty rose color and I jump to it and wrestle it from the others. I grab the dress and I hold it against my arm and it's silk and it's so white and it's long and it's beautiful and I love it! I run to the platform with the mirrors on all sides and I go to hold it against myself but something stops me...it's myself.

My body-no, not my body, something stronger, better, faster, beautiful, bruise-free and clean-stands there with so much confidence and so much defiance that it demands my attention. And my skin! My skin is so pale, ghost pale, even more pale than Godric and Isabel! Even more pale than the snow that I remember that was sprayed with red and disaster and terror and death. I pull up the dress to press it against myself in fact I'm even paler than the white dress! I look up in surprise and that's when I see my hair! Since being in the control of those men my hair had lost its color and it's curls but as a child my hair was so gold and curly and now it seems to have gone back to that! But I'm unsure what I find more intriguing, the color that is no doubt more golden than the actual sun or the fact that I can see every individual strand of hair! My eyes jump to my face and I'm satisfied to see that there are only slight alterations there. My smile is my exact same smile but my lips look a little more pink than I remember and the bruises that were there from the bumps and grabs are gone and my eyes are the exact same shape and color. I'm still me, my face tells me, just a little bit better.

I hear a shift in the floor, a creak of weight that means movement, and my eyes jump behind me and I gasp. Godric has been standing there the entire time with his eyes glued to the floor, trying not to look at me. I cover myself quickly with the dress, slipping it on and pinning it closed, and I shout out, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I forgot you were there! I'm so sorry!"

His face is as pink and boyish as it was when I asked just seconds ago if I would stay with him forever but he appears the most shy that I have ever seen him. His hands hide behind his back and I can see that he's fighting with himself like he was daring himself to peak but he lost his courage. He shakes his head, still not looking, "It's fine, Amie. I told you that you should not apologize for your actions, that request still continues."

I look down at myself and let out a series of nervous giggles that turn into real ones that aren't so nervous anymore. It isn't long before he joins me and we're both laughing at ourselves. I don't know what has come over me and I don't know why I'm doing things I would have never done before but the biggest thing I don't know is why Godric is still with me through it. I reach my hand up to cover my mouth but suddenly Godric's hand is around it, stopping it from getting any higher. I can feel the strength surging through his fingers that tells me even if I tried to fight I could never win.

"Amie, you are far more beautiful than Isabel," his words are soft like little flower petals being rattled in the wind but there is a forcefulness about them that makes it sound like he's upset to get the words out, like he's upset that I would even consider such a thing. His eyes jump up to mine finally but he lets go of my arm as he says, "Come, I will show you to your bedroom."

I follow him out of the room with my whole body and my mind and my spirit smiling because if he said that I'm _far more beautiful than Isabel_ than that means that he must REALLY think I'm beautiful and if he does think I'm beautiful then maybe there's a chance that he will love me one day. Maybe one day soon. He stops moving and I stop behind him right on que. I look up to see that we are standing outside of a door that has yet to be open. I look up at him to see what he is waiting for but all he does is step aside as if he's waiting for me to have the privilages.

I reach forward and I turn the door knob and as soon as I do another gasp escapes my lips and it seems like I'll be gasping all night. The room is huge and there are windows that peak into a courtyard with a small pond at the center and plants growing all around and even vines along the window and the pond has bridges that lead to the center and join and then spread out in different locations and in the pond there are fishes that swim and their gills catch the light of the moon and reflect back against the water and the bed is so large with a nice mauve color scheme on it and it's surrounded by a dark color wood that smells so fresh and there's a canopy and there's a large mirror and there's even a large closet and the dressers and shelves are all empty waiting fro me to fill them all up. I turn around to look at Godric and shout exactly what I'm thinking, "Everything is perfect!"

A smile is locked in the corner of his lips again but he can't hide the smile in his eyes. He steps into the room and walks beside me to the window, "Across the pond is where I reside."

I can't help but to frown at the thought. We won't be sleeping together. I look to him and ask, "What about when the sun comes up?"

He pulls a remote control looking box from his pocket and presses a button. As he does a large steel curtain locks into place over the window and a series of loud clicks takes place all over the house and this lets me know the same thing has happened to every window, "We shall reture to bed at four am and no later. You need your rest, Amie, we have had an eventful night and more is to expected of tomorrow evening."

"What if I get scared?" the question jumped out of my mouth before I even thought about it.

There is a small smile that comes to his mouth but it is quickly hidden by his answer, "I'm just down the hall, Amie, if you call for me I will come."

I nod my head and keeping my eyes focused on the steel curtains and the pond that I can still see behind them. I hear Godric taking his steps away to the door and I turn to look at him, "Godric?"

He pauses in mid step and responds, "Yes?"

"I'm scared," I say quickly because I'm scared to be alone with out him for the first time in my new life.

A weird thing happens to his face and a real smile sprouts up on his lips as he takes the door knob and begins to close the door, "Good night, Amie."

"Good night, Godric," I whisper just as he shuts the door.


	4. Chapter 4

My first day as I vampire I have a terrible dream. In my dream I'm standing with Godric in the snow but we aren't talking or saying a thing. Instead we stand looking at each other as the snow flakes fall one by one surrounding us until it's all we cansee and that's when I here the gun shots. I jerk my body to move but Godric's eyes stop me. Tears fall down my face and I feel like I'm choking but something in his eyes, something in his force prevents me from taking any action to stop what is occuring behind me and I know what's occuring behind me. I hear the screams and the shouts and the laughter and the hits and the gun shots and I know I can do something because I'm a vampire now and I'm tough and I'm strong but Godric won't let me move, not at all.

But it's only a dream.

I open my eyes before the dream can finish and I feel a sense of restlessness as if I didn't sleep at all. I sit up and bed and see the iron curtains are drawn upwards and the pond is visible along with the moonlight. It takes me a moment, a second, to register where I am. I understand that I'm in Godric's home but I don't quite believe it. I feel a weird sense of unsurity and confusion but all these feelings do is wake me up even further.

I stand up from the bed because I don't feel the urge to lay in bed any longer, there's something about my wonderful bed that is very uncomfortable. I stand at my window and look at the pond, but I'm not really seeing the pond, I'm seeing beyond it to Godric's room. Inside I can just make out his form on his bed and I feel a compulsion to run through the windows and jump into his bed but I can't. Godric doesn't feel for me in that way...not yet.

Especially not in a night gown. I think back to Isabel and what she wore and what Godric has worn himself. I have to change into something beautiful and I know just the perfect place to get it. I walk, run fly appear, in my dressing room and fall in love with it all over again. I strip off my night gown but as I do I remember Godric's blushing face, trying not to look at me. I can't help but to giggle all over again as I step into my similar position in the mirrors and stare at myself again. My body is still a surprise to me but as I run my fingers down my stomach it begins to get a little familiar, if feels like I had just gotten used to my body and now it was all different again. A frown takes up my features and I'm reminded suddenly of my mother and puberty.

I remember my mother and her sad blue eyes as the doctor told her that I wouldn't be able to have kids but at twelve years old I didn't want kids I just wanted to run around in my back yard with my puppies. The doctor took my mom outside but I could still hear them talking becaus the door was open just a little crack. The doctor said I'd still grow like a normal child but I wouldn't have my menstrual cycle. I knew what that was, my period, and I thought that was wonderful. All the girls in school were starting to get it and one by one everyone began to look more and more miserable and girls that were my friend became complete strangers but I was only a few years behind.

I remember my sixteenth birthday when my body had gone crazy on me. I looked at myself in the mirror and hated it and covered everything up with big clothes and big shirts so no one could see but that didn't hide anything. It was at a party that my friends father took notice of me, his name was Patrick and he said that I was special and I could be a model but when we...

"Amie?"

Godric's voice sounds far away like he's in my new room which means he's close. The feeling of his presense getting nearer fills me with a comfort that I hadn't realized was gone in my mental wanderings. I hadn't thought about that in so long. I look in the mirror and see my face is filled with the stupid blood that means I was crying but I didn't even feel like crying at all! I grab my night gown that I left on the floor and I run to the back of the room so I can shout out, "In here!"

"Are you alright?" Godric's voice is so near and so concerned that suddenly I feel embarresed for making myself so sad when he was just down the hall! So silly of me!

"Of course!" I wipe my face clean of the tears with the night gown and quickly find the soft dusty rose dress that hid the white dress inside of it. "I was just playing dress up until you woke up."

"There is no need for you to hesitate in awakening me, Amie. I have forgotten that a new vampire often rises as soon as the sun sets," he sounds nervous like he's just saying things to say it and suddenly I feel sad because what if we've run out of things to talk about already.

"Okay," I say softly as I pin the dress closed at my hip and look down at myself with a grin. The pink is a really lovely color on my white skin and it floats when I walk and it makes me feel like I'm a princess because it's so pink.

"We have to discuss some important matters that concern our enga-"

I look up at Godric, waiting for him to finish his sentence but his eyes are on me as if I had interupted him. I lower my face and open my mouth to apologize but then I recall what he had said before. _Do I frighten you that much? _I bite my lip to keep my apology from spilling out and instead I ask, "Our?"

"Have you been crying?" it's like I am the red wood forest in a drout and Godric's hands are a forgotten match left burning on my face. I shut my eyes quickly as he pulls my face up to the light and I try to back away but he is so strong for someone so small and I'm stuck in my spot because my bones have turned to ash. "Amie, answer me."

"Yes," my body forces the answer out of my mouth even though I had sworn I would not tell him.

"Do you regre-"

"No!" I shift under his hold because I can't think and feel his touch at the same time but still he doesn't let me go. Did I regret, I can't even let him finish the sentence because it's surely something ridiculous. How could I regret anything that has to do with my new life with Godric? How can I regret any decision tat has lead me to him, "I was just thinking about things that don't matter anymore and I don't know why! I didn't even know I was crying! It just happened! I didn't even mean to! I tried to wipe it away so you didn't worry! If it was important I would tell you, I promise!"

He's silent for a long time but I still feel his hands and his breathing and the mixture of lavander and dirt that tells me he hasn't let go. His thumb on his right hand brushes across my left cheek and it's like every particle of skin is jumping up to meet the crevices in his thumb and suddenly I can feel his body so close to mine and all at once I lean my face in closer and press my body to his, jumping over the invisible line I'm not allowed to cross but he doesn't back away. I feel his body, so massive over mine, against me but it's too much and all I can do is shiver like I had when I first heard his voice. It runs through me, his closeness and his scent and his power all I want to do is drown in his arms that hold me close. My arms encircle his middle and although his lips call his chest calls more and suddenly I break through his hold on my face and I curl up against his chest and wait for his arms to wrap around me because suddenly I feel so comfortable and I feel like this is where I really belong.

"I'm sorry, Godric," I huff softly under my breath because I feel so stupid that I'm here hugging him and he doesn't even want to touch me. I contemplate pulling away but just at that second his arms come around me like a massive weight and keeps me still against him. I can't help but to feel my face grow with excitement because he's given in and he's hugging me and although it's an awkward hug it feels so good.

"Why were you crying?" his voice is a whisper that sends a cascade of trembles throughout my new muscles that awakens inside of me a burning that can't be quenched, pop.

I pull my body away and turn to hide but Godric grabs my arms and stips me. I wait like a child with my arm stuck in his grasp but I hide my face away and the sharp pointy things that make my gums ache. I shove my hand over my mouth to hide fangs but again Godric's strong hand grabs my wrist and stops it from moving.

"If you do not regret your transformation why do you hide your fangs?" his voice sounds stern and terrifying and requires my answer immediantly.

"I don't know...they just popped out, I was afraid you would be mad. I don't know what it means when they come out, I'm...I'm hungry," I whisper as I look up into his eyes that had been tinged with curiousity and concern but are now fill with shock.

"Forgive my ignorance, Amie, I do apologize," his hands immediantly release me and I feel a wave of frustration flood into my bones and I feel so angry with myself and I feel so ridiculous, "I no longer feed as a normal vampire, Eric was correct in asuming I would neglect our differences."

"Eric?" pop, the fangs fall back into place inside of their hiding holes and I look at Godric for an explanation to this name.

But he doesn't give it to me. Instead he grabs my hand and suddenly I've forgotten all about Eric and now I focus on the fact that his skin is touching my skin with no provocking from my end. A silly grin forms on my lips that I don't bother hiding because Godric isn't paying attention to me, he's leading me through the house and to the kitchen. He lets go of my hand but I grab it once more, forcing him to turn back to face me. His eyes look down at my hand touching his and I grin seeing the soft pink tint in his cheeks that I've learned to associate with his embarresment. His eyes look up into mine but I look away to the kitchen because I can't focus on holding his hand and looking into his eyes, "Amie, have you heard any news of vampire existance in the past three years?"

I shrug slightly, focusing on his hand that is so big compared to mine, "Not really...only a little here and there."

"Have you heard of TruBlood?"

TruBlood. My mind jumps to the guest that held my hand that night. He hand been drinking TruBlood that evening when the men all grabbed women and took them away to do what they would he just sat and watched me with the TruBlood sitting on his lap. I think of when we sat on the big sofa with my hand in his and he made me watch the sun rise he was completely covered by the shadow of the large curtain. I remember his skin was very cold and I remember he made me retire without looking at him or asking for a kiss or some of the things the other girls got. Was he a vampire? Was he like us?

"Yes..." I answer softly, this time glancing up at him to meet his eyes. I'm lost in them again, shaped by curiousity many light years away from here.

"Are you aware that it is an alternative suppliment that vampires choose to drink so that they may assimilate back into the human culture?" he asks but halfway through his big words I get lost in the way his mouth dances around each syllable.

I blink softly once he finishes asking and I'm amazed once again by the capacity of my new mind. Before I would be totally lost and I'd have to ask him to repeat his question in normal words but my mind was able to pick up each word while my focus wandered. In seconds I'm able to rephrase the question in a way that makes sense to me and I ask in return," So...instead of drinking blood...I can drink TruBlood?"

"Yes. Until I have taught you how to control your impulses your diet will be restricted to TruBlood and that alone," his face his serious and his tone is the same and it runs through my muscles in a weird way that promises that I will listen to his command.

I nod my head patiently, searching around for the little bottle of red because an increasing pain in my stomach starts to bother me and I realize that I'm famished, "Okay."

"You will have access to the TruBlood at all times and it will be kept in he-"

As soon as he opened the cabinet my hands were around a bottle and I was drinking it whole and immediately I didn't like it. It tastes like dirt or like left over McDonalds french fries that have been sitting in the backseat for way too long. It tastes like the paint on latex they made us wear for Halloween and it tastes unnaturally warm. I lower the empty bottle in my hands and frown as I look it over, the pain has definitely subsided but now it is replaced by an odd uncomfortability.

"How do you feel?" his hands take the bottle from me but instead of focusing on where he puts it I focus on that man that drank this all night. No wonder he was so upset and annoyed with the women that attempted to get him off the sofa. This stuff is horrible.

"I'm full now but it tastes awful," I look up to Godric and see the locked-in smile on his lips that means I'm amusing him. I blush and lower my face, "Are there any other flavors?"

"There are always more flavors," he answers and for a moment I see his hand flinch upward as if to touch me but instead it raises and he points to the livingroom, "Shall we have a seat."

I beat him to it because the way the dress lifts as I move makes me feel like I can fly. I twirl around once until the fabric comes to a place I want and I take a quick seat on the couch and wait for him to join me. He walks into the livingroom but instead of sitting down he stands above me with his face quiet like it always is before he says something. I look up at him, focusing on his nose so I don't get lost in his eyes, "I thought you said we were taking a seat."

The little smile slips from his hold and he nods, "You are correct."

Slowly he lowers himself beside me but before I can control myself my head falls against his shoulder like it had fallen against his chest. I make sure this time to not get lost in any silly thoughts so that my fangs don't pop out and embarres me all over again. Godric is stiff again with my head on his shoulder but I make myself comfortable by lifting up my legs and wraping my two arms around his large one.

"Amie, through out your transformation I have noticed that you have been uncharacteristically unquestioning. I have come to the conclusion that you have not asked me any questions because you are unsure what questions to ask. Because of this I will give you the answer to the most common question a new vampire may ask. I will explain the relationship between you and I," through out his speech his voice has been the calm and patient evenness I have come to expect but at the sound of our _relationship _a nervousness fills me that I have no reason to feel. I don't interupt him so he continues, "You are my Child, Amie, and I am your Maker. I have plucked you from the realm of the living and I have consumed your blood and filled you with my own. Because of this we share a bond that is so strong it may never be broken. I am your father, your creator, your master, your guide, your friend, your-"

"Lover," I whisper absentmindedly hoping to remind him but instead of an answer I feel a wave of embaresment and I instantly regret mentioning the word.

"Your protector. You might take these details lightly however do not take lightly our bond. The bond between a Child and his Maker is so strong that I will be able to feel everything that you may feel, know where you are at all times, and in case of your lapse in judgement I will be able to even control your actions. But while our bond is strong it comes with a price. If you were to be harmed in any way...if you were to die...it is unspeakable the anguish that I will be forced to endure. I dare say there is no pain close to that of losing a child and with that I ask that you understand that the world is not a safe place for vampires although we are immortal and far superior to the human race. A simple wooden stick through the heart or decapitation will make you face the true death in which not even I can rescue you from. The sun will burn your skin so harshly you will not be able to heal unless you feed on human blood and the same will occur with the touch of silver," my mind is a screen filled with split segments in which one observes his eyes and the other his mouth and the other his words and the other the true meaning of what he is saying to me.

Quickly I ask, "Silver? I thought that was only for werewolves."

"No. Silver will boil your flesh and cause you extreme pain," he explains causing a shiver to run through my body. There's so much danger out there-simple things too!-it makes me want to curl against Godric's side and never leave our castle again. "Amie, while I do warn you of the dangers in your new life trust that while you are in my care these objects of fear will never cause you harm."

"I trust you Godric but what about you? Who will protect you from all these things?" I ask feeling an overwhelming need to want to protect the person beside me from silver and the sun and wooden stakes and losing his head.

"I have much assistance in the vampire community. My life is not in danger," he answers with a smile in his eyes that makes me feel...important.

It is now that a new question pops into my head that I have to ask before I forget, "Can I feel your emotions as well?"

His face falls softly and becomes the serious, professional Godric that discussed important matters with Isabel but there is still that pinkish tint I love so much, "Yes, you will be able to feel my emotions as well."

I lower my head back onto his shoulder and suddenly I realize I had been tracing the lines in his hand the whole time he spoke. There's something in the fact that he hasn't stopped me that fills me with unbelievable happiness and I think...no...I can't think about that now. I bite my lip softly and sigh, "Godric...I won't do anything stupid to get myself into trouble. I promise. I'll stay by your side so you don't have to worry about me forever."

"Forever?" his voice has taken on a far away sound that shouldn't belong to Godric. It fills me with a deep longing and saddness that makes me think of all the years he has been living his life and if he has been living his life alone. Has no one yet to promise forever with him or has no one kept their promise yet?

I nod my head defiantly and say in a strong voice I have yet to use, "Forever. Now, can we please go look at the po-"

The scent hardly hit my nostrils.

I barely had a second to think.

All I can smell is fear.

All I can taste is desire.

All I absorb is life.


	5. Chapter 5

It's like I'm not even a real being.

It's like my skin isn't skin anymore. It's something new and vibrant like fireworks! And my blood isn't blood it's fuel that's been ignited by the taste in my mouth that is so pure like the purest sugar that just makes every molecule in my body go crazy! And my muscles aren't muscles! My muscles are steel plates that not even the strongest man on Earth can lift into the air! And my mouth...my mouth isn't a mouth it's a portal that transfers the horror of the universe away and invites the beauty into my soul. My soul, my soul, my soul.

"Amiena stop at once!"

It's like someone jumps inside of me and forces me to shut the portal and become myself again. As myself I swallow the last mouthful of glory and my senses vibrate with the wonderful. The taste is sweet, so sweet, so sweet, so very very sweet like liquid cotton candy flowing around my tongue and it smells like burning caramel and it feels like strawberry syrup, I'm insane, I'm insane with amazement. I'm suddenly aware that there are heartbeats, real heartbeats surrounding me and even a small tiny one in my arms. My eyes peak open but I shut them again quickly because I can't believe, I can't I can't belive what I have done.

I look up to Godric with my eyes wide open in fear. He's mad at me. He's terribly angry with me, "I'm...I'm so sorry!"

I look back to the people that are here and I see there are two humans standing behind Isabel and a big tall strong man with a cowboy hat and he's so big he scares me because he reminds me of the men. I hear the fast heartbeats of the humans and when I look at them I see they are just as afraid of me as I am of him. I look down at the man in my hands and see that blood is everywhere, still pouring out of his neck and his hands are limply searching for the holes.

"Come here now!"

Before I'm aware of what has occured I'm at Godric's side with the man still in my arms. He's so mad at me. He's so mad at me and I can't stand the anger that leaks from his body and into my chest. I hold onto the man and beg, "Please! Please help him!"

"Isabel, take this man to his home where you will make sure he is safe and cared for. Stan, Roger, and Richard you are dismissed," his voice runs through my veins and makes my limbs lead and all I can do is stand idly while Isabel lifts the man from my arms and they all disappear but I don't want them to go. I don't want to be left alone with Godric and his wrath and what I have done to that poor guy. I lift my hands to cover my face but all I see is the red, the red on white, the blood on my hands, the blood on the snow and all the girls dead. "Inside, now."

I don't hesitate. I'm at the center of the livingroom on my knees before the fire place, waiting for Godric to come and discipline me because that's what I deserve. I can't believe what I have done. The eyes of Roger and Richard burn into my mind and the sound of their heartbeat so fast like their hearts are trying to escape and run away. I'm worse than the men. While they harmed and hurt us because we caused them displeasure I attacked for no reason. I attacked...I attacked.

"Stand," Godric's voice is soft and it isn't like the demands that he gave me before that made me move with out a thought. This is more of a request but I have to listen. I stand up but I keep my face down low because I don't want him to see me and the evidence on my features. I turn my face away but suddenly his hand is there, not really touching me but limiting my motion. His hand radaites a warmth and comfort and before I know it my face presses into it, "Look at me."

I don't want to look but I have no choice but to react. My eyes tentatively shift over to him but I don't meet his eyes. His eyes, so pure and so magical, can't take the tainted beast before him but his face is shifted into something I had not expected. His mouth holds a soft pout and his brows furrow and when I take him in totally I see that he is concerned and curious and so many things I can't figure out with one look.

"Why do you weep?" His question is tender and with his hand on my cheek brushing away tears I crack open.

"They were afraid of me...like I used to be afraid of the men and they had every right to be. I...I couldn't control myself. If it weren't for you I might have killed them all...and now I'm scared because what if it happens again and you're not there to help me? What if I kill people? I can't...I don't want to do that..I don't want to be a monster," my voice becomes a whisper before I can finish my explanation but I don't have to worry about him being able to hear me because he can hear everything.

"You will not become a monster, I will not allow it," Godric's eyes are as serious as they were when he commanded me to stop. His voice is as strong as it was when he answered my unasked questions. He holds my gaze and I can feel in my chest determination and I can feel in my bones as well as my heart that I can trust him, he can save me. A little smile forces its way out of my pout but it isn't long before he is smiling too. His hand on my cheek drops to my neck and my knees go weak because my neck is so tender, "Come and dry your eyes, my Child. I will draw you a bath."

His arm falls away from me but not before I can snatch his hand from the empty air in both of mine. I'm still too shaken to stand on my own and there's something about his strong hand that makes me feel so safe. Maybe it's because I remember all the men that had oppressed me and hurt me died at his very hands and maybe that's what gives me comfort, the constant reminder that he saved me from those people. Or maybe it's the gentleness he touches me with or maybe it's the fact that I know he's so strong, I can feel how strong he is without a demonstration...or maybe it's just because he lets me indulge in the comfort of his hand before shyly pulling it away as he does now.

His hands work the knobs of the bathtub and I step back to take in the full glory of the bathroom. Like every room in this house it is a fairytale. The floor is made up of small tiles in different shapes and colors that give the illusion of the ocean waves and the bathtub is so huge it looks like a boat carving the waters. There is a large mirror that takes up a large chunck of wall and the color of the granite that shapes around it and the large sink and the white of the walls make the bathroom look like a regular day lost at sea. Not too mention the large mirror opposite of the sink, it takes up the entire side of the bathroom and in this I can see myself fully. My beautiful dress is stained with red along with my whole face and my curls. I look like I went through my mothers make up bags and tried to paint my face. I look horrible.

"Amie, your bath is ready."

I turn to Godric with the intention of thanking him but I'm caught by something far more spectacular. The bathtub is filled with bubbles that grow and multiply as the small trickling of water continues to go. I stip off my dress and run into the tub because I HAVE to touch them! The bubbles are so perfect and round and although they appear white in their multitude each bubbles is actually a rainbow of colors! I hold the piles in my hand and I toss them in the air and I watch as they catch the light of every shade in the bathroom and I watch as they transform as I blow them in the air and I giggle as they tickle my body and my nose and I dive under the water and watch the blood jump off of me and stain the bubbles a silly shade of pink and I grin as I sit up from the water and see Godric is watching me and not watching me at the same time. His face is cast away and downward, hidden by his shoulder, but I see his reflection in the mirror and to my pleasure the strong man is gone and is replaced by my boy.

"Godric! Join me!" I shout in joy as dive back under and resurface with the bubbles covering my face. I put my hands together over the water and attempt to make more bubbles from my soapy hands by blowing into them like I did when I was a kid.

"Forgive me but I must decline this offer," he says as he turns his body around like he's heading for the door.

"But, Godric...you can't leave me," did I do something wrong again? Why doesn't he want to stay? Have I become annoying already? Does he not want me here anymore? Is he going to be like the men and forget about me until he needs me to entertain guest? Is that what I am?

I wait for him to answer but instead he stands still facing the door. I feel nervous again like I said the wrong thing and I feel stupid because I need him so much when I should be learning how to be by myself. I've been by myself for so long now why do I suddenly crave his affection? I know the answer to that one before I finish thinking the question. He turns around slowly and there is that shy little smile hidden behind his straight lips. He walks toward me and takes a seat on the little tiolet beside the bathtub as he says, "I will stay for only a short while."

I can't help but to let out a wide happy grin that I try to hide behind the bubbles but it's useless. Just as I can see straight through them I'm sure he can too and that reminds me that I'm naked inside this tub here which must be the reason he wants to leave so bad. I look down at myself and shift under the bubbles so that I'm in a sitting position with my legs pressed up against my chest, hiding all the important stuff. There is a soft smile on his face and slowly his eyes turn to me with a small look of gratitude inside of them. His eyes...little storms quietly raging with things hidden deep down beneath that I will never understand. He opens his mouth to speak but I beat him to it, "Who was that scary man in the cowboy hat?"

"His name is Stan. Him along with Isabel are my two closest underlings and are apart of the assistance I had mentioned earlier," he answers my question but his eyes don't focus on me, instead they focus on my face and I'm just to ask what's wrong when in his hand appears a rag, "You still have blood on your face. Allow me to remove it for you."

I nod my head patiently and lean a little forward as he dips the rag in the water and presses his hand closer to my face. I lower my eyes to the water that has his reflection and ask, "Are they mad at me?"

The rag touches my cheek but through the wet patchwork of fibers I can feel his finger's presense, dragging along my skin, "The exact opposite. I believe Stan was very amused by your display while Isabel was simply concerned. She is worried you may prove too much for me to handle on my own."

The rag arches slightly along my cheek bone and falls downward against the line of my jaw that tingles so much, "Too much to handle? But you are my Maker you can control me like you did today."

"I find no joy in having to use my power over you, Amie, it is always my last choice," there is a slight sadness in his voice but it passes quickly and I promise that I will never make him use that on me again. He dips the rag back into the water and I open my mouth to ask another question but this time he beats me, "Why were you crying early this evening?"

"I was thinking about my mother and when I was a little girl," I answer even though I really don't want to. The rag reaches up to brush over my chin but his fingertip just lightly grazes my bottom lip and my fangs pop out but this time I don't cover my mouth, I simply pop them back in with satisfaction because they don't hurt so much anymore.

"What were you thinking exactly?" his voice is inquisitive but I don't want to tell him. I don't want to think of those things anymore, I want to think of good things that I haven't lost yet but I promised I wouldn't make him use that stuff on me and I when I said yes to this I did promise I would be his friend...and friends tell each other everything.

"I thought about when I was twelve years old and my mother took me to the doctor because I wasn't growing like the other girls. Her name was Dr. Smith and she said the reason I wasn't growing like them is because there was something wrong with my girl parts because of some medicine my mother took when I was still in her stomach. She said I wouldn't have a thing called a menstrual cycle like the other girls and that I'd develop a little later but that was fine. She said when I grew up and found a nice man that did want children I could visit her again and we could figure something out if I wanted to," the words pour out of my mouth like the drops of water from the rag that pour down my neck. The more he cleans the blood away the less resistance I have to telling him everything he wants to know.

"And that made you weep?" I can't hear anything in his tone, he's using the soft patient voice he always uses but with my eyes closed I can't see anything in his expression.

"No...thinking about how sad she was did. We didn't tell my dad because he didn't worry about that kind of stuff but it was a secret between us. She always looked so sad when we went shopping like what was wrong with me was her fault but I didn't care. I didn't want all that stuff...the other girls in school, the ones that were my friends, turned into scary people because they were scared themselves. They were scared of what they were becoming and I didn't want that...I just wanted to stay with my puppies. Oh, I miss them so much, that part made me cry. I had three and they were so cute and I played with them and I took care of them...There was Axle, Issy, and Rocko and they were all yorkies and...I don't know where they are now...it's been nine months since I last saw them...I don't think my parents could take care of them," I swallow the last part hard because now that I think about it I'm so sad. I'm really sad and I don't want to talk anymore because I haven't thought about my parents and my dogs in a long time. What did my parents do with them? Where are my parents?

The rags wipe under my eyes gently to stop me from crying but the water that drips onto my cheek does the same thing, "How did you get into the posession of those men?"

I can't help but to sniffle because my nose feels tickly like it always does when I cry, "My friend Emily had the same birthday as I do, March 23, and on our birthday she decided to have a birthday. I was turning sixteen but she was turning fifteen so it wasn't going to be that big, just a little party at her house where we would go swimming and watch movies and eat pizza and stuff like that. It took my parents forever to agree because..I was changing like the other girls...I was looking older and they didn't want me to go to a pool party but I begged them and finally they said yes but I wore big large clothes and I did that anyway because I didn't like the way I looked anymore...but Emily's dad still noticed...His name was Patrick and when I went inside to use the bathroom he found me and started talking to me and he said nice things about me and said I could be a famous model and stuff but I didn't want to talk to him anymore so I just asked where the bathroom was instead of responding...but he lead me down the wrong way and then he put this weird smelling thing over my nose and I fell asleep...and when I woke up I was in the back of a truck with other girls and I was so cold because I was still wearing my bathing suit and a girl sitting next to me named Cally gave me her sweater. When the truck stopped it was in front of a big house and inside we had to stand naked against each other, sixteen girls, in front of a big window that we couldn't see behind and I was so scared and I was the smallest one there but Cally held my hand the whole time until they made us let go and they took her away and I was the last one in that room and by the time I was there I knew I wasn't going to see anyone I loved ever again and I knew there was nothing I could do. But then a man came through the door and he put a blanket around me and said I was going to be alright and I would be his little princess from now on and I would join the other princesses in his castle and I was so happy because Cally got to go with me and a bunch of other girls that weren't apart of the sixteen and we all sat in a huge truck that took us to the castle and it looked so nice but when we got there big scary men grabbed us and forced us to change into little dresses and...and they took us to a the back and made us watch them execute the girls before us because they had tried to escape and they made us take off their clothes and wear them while they were still bleeding...Then they grabbed us and took turns hitting us all while other men held guns to make sure we didn't hit back and then they put us in the basement in cells but mine had a hole and it was so cold and I couldn't escape because I saw those girls being shot and I could feel their blood on me and I didn't want to die and I didn't want them to hit me so I stayed until...until it was too late."

I hear the gun shots around me and I hear the laughing and I feel the cold cold snow making it impossible to move but I can't do anything, I can't save them. I feel the tears fall down my face hot and sticky and I reach my hands up to wipe them but something's wrong. Where's Godric. I don't hear a sound around me except my own breathing and the sound of water dropping back onto the surface of the bath from my own hand. I want to peak my eyes open but I'm too afraid to see he's gone and that makes me cry a little harder because he left me all alone after making me remember all that horrible stuff he's left me.

"Amie," my eyes flash open and I see his face his stone hard and solid and his eyes are dark and there is no softness to them at all, my blushing boy is missing, "I believe your bath is complete."

He stands in a swift motion and in his hands he stretches out a large towel where I can fit in. The towel is at an angle that covers his face and I try not to cry but I can't stop myself because what have I done? I've told him how it happened and now he thinks I'm soiled goods and that I'm not worth his goodness and the gifts that he showers me in and he's going to leave me and throw me out and I'm going to be all alone and I can't take being all alone anymore. But what can I do to show him he's wrong when he isn't? Defeatedly, I stand out of the water and step out of the bath and I reach weakly for the towel but before I know it his arms are around me-holding me so tight that the towel stays pressed between us with no chance of moving-and just as fast I dive into him, pressing myself so hard against him I feel like I'm going to burst inside of his chest and I want to so bad because in his arms and against his chest is the only safe place I know.

His mouth presses against the top of my head and I feel like a dragon is breathing over me, burning me from head to toe, and he whispers in a voice as fierce as he looks, "Those men are gone now, Amie, and no one will ever harm a single hair on your head again. You have nothing to fear, fore as long as I live you will never be in danger. I swear, Amiena, I will protect you with every ounce of strength I possess. I swear. Understood?"

I melt inside of him and I drown in his words that I want carved into my skin because they are just too good to be true. I can't believe what he says. This must be a dream, I must really be dead. This goodness that he promises is too much for me. I can't believe it. But feebily I nod my head and whisper, "Understood."

"Good. Now, let us leave this here and prepare for bed. It is almost dawn, you have stayed up far past your bed time," I can't help but to smile because he's joking with me, he's teasing with a little smirk that makes my insides flip around all over the place.

"Well it's your fault," I reply as I grab the towel and wrap it around myself comfortably.

"My fault? How am I to blame?" he asks this question in a voice that is mocking disbelief and I can't help but to laugh because he sounds so silly and he keeps that stupid smirk on his face even though he's trying to hide it.

"You're the one that made me take a bath and poured bubbles into it!" I shout through my laughs as I point at him.

He shakes his head as he guides me out of the bathroom, "I was unaware of your obsession with bubbles. I completely underestimated your ability to take your hygiene seriously."

He leads me into my dressing room and hands me a new night gown that is the same pretty pink as my ruined dress that I wore before. I snatch it from his hands as I retort, "You had every second of that planned, Godric, I believe you only did that to see me naked."

I hear the smallest intake of breath and I grin behind a rack of dresses because I've got him. But as I change into my night gown I hear him say with that smirk present in every word, "If I wished to see you without your clothing I could have simply waited for you to find something that excites you."

My face turns a bright red color and put my hands over my cheeks because it's true. I realize now that everytime I've been really excited I took off my clothes shortly after. I step from behind the rack and wave my finger at him, "Hey! Don't blame me for how I react to excitement! It's your fault I can't control myself!"

His eyes widen in surprise as his cheeks turn a nice pink color and he points to himself as he laughs, "Me? How am I to blame?"

I walk past him to my room because I don't want him to see that my face is still a really dark red color that makes me cheeks feel like they're fireworks, "You know better than I do that I have all these impulses and you know that you make me crazy."

I stop at my bedroom door and turn to look at him although my face is still a million shades of red that keeps getting redder. His face is soft all over and he has this big stupid smile and he's my boy alright but now he's the shy boy with the secret agenda that's very satisfied because he's succeeded in making me admit little hints to what he should already know. I want to grab his stupid face and smush it together and kiss it all over but I keep my arms folded over my chest because I can't, he doesn't feel that way about me. He leans against my door frame and I can hear the groans of the wood under his weight, "I apologize for causing you bedlam."

My eyes drop down to his smile and the little dimples etched into his skin that I hadn't really noticed before. I fold my arms over my chest and turn my face away, "I don't forgive yo-"

Before I can finish my sentence his hand grasps my face and turns it to his direction as he places the most tender kiss upon my forehead making me explode into a bright and blazing star that's just about to cave in on itself, "Sleep well, Amie."

I explode at his words carved onto my face and watch as he disappears around the corner. I'm a supernova. I'm a blackhole sucking in all the good and wonderful there is to offer in the galaxy. I'm far better than human or vampire. I'm happy.

A few seconds pass and I'm able to recover the slightest bit of my sanity and I whisper, "You too, Godric."

I open my bedroom door and walk in to my bed perfectly made as if it hasn't been slept in at all. I walk to the window although the iron curtains are down and I can't see anything but still. I press my hand to the window and close my eyes because he's there just across the pond and I know he's looking at me too.


	6. Chapter 6

My second dream as a vampire I'm standing in a crowded room with people all around me but no one is looking at me. I stand at the center and there are little tv's in the corners of the room and I'm on it and everyone can see them but they just choose to look away. My hair is straight though and not curly like I like it. It's straight like it was the day that I was kidnapped and in fact when I look closer at the tv's I see images from that night replaying over and over. I see myself laughing at the pool and I see myself begging my parents to go and I see myself eating my fourth piece of pizza and so many little things I don't want to see. I start to call out "Turn it off! Please! Turn it off" but no one is looking at me. I try to step away from my place in the crowd but the touch of the people's clothing hurts my skin so bad I can't leave. I keep calling out "Turn it off! Please! Please turn it off!" but no one is listening and I look around the room desperately but no one is looking at me. It's here that I start to cry but just as the clear tears fall I see Godric in the room standing next to a tall blonde man without a face. I open my mouth to reach out to him but I stop because he looks like he's having fun without me and that hurts my chest a whole lot. I cover my mouth and hide my face but something forces me to look, a little shiver, and I see he is looking at me. Godric is looking at me and he smiles.

A soft knock awakens me from my dream along with the gentle whisper, "Amie."

My eyes flash open to the window that reveals the pale half moon but I don't answer him. The dream still lingers on the edges of my mind and for some reason it fills me with a crazy lonliness I haven't felt since the day I stood on display in front of the mirror. I feel helpless but more than that I feel afraid, like I'm all by myself and no one can help me not even a little bit.

"Amie, are you alright?" not even Godric's conserned tone can help my lonliness but it does remind me that there is more that I have to do today.

I wipe at my eyes to make sure there aren't any tears but sure enough there are little red stains upon my fingertips but still I answer, "Yes, Godric. I'm fine, I'll be out in just one second."

"There is no reason to lie. I had the belief that after my explination last evening you would see that. Tell me, what is the matter?" he sounds disappointed in me and for some reason even that makes me feel sadder. I can just imagine what he looks like at my door waiting patiently for my response. His mouth must be frowning with displeasure and his eyes...his eyes must be rolled upward with annoyance. Why do I always feel the need to lie first?

"I just had a bad dream," I say softly because I know it's a stupid reason and the more for me to be upset and I don't want to talk about it anymore.

"A dream?"he asks in a voice so quiet like he's filled with disbelief.

Slowly I sit up from the bed as I nod my head, knowing he can't see it through the closed door, "Yes."

There is a small hesitation like he's waiting for me to say something else but I don't-what can I possibly say?-and this silence forces him to reply instead. I hear him sigh, not a big sigh but a really quiet one before he asks, "May I come in?"

Before I'm aware of my actions I'm laying back in the bed tucked under the covers replying, "Yes."

My face feels so hot that it burns the corners of my jaw and I hide it in the covers because I'm so nervous and I don't want him to see that and in fact I don't want him in here making me crazy again. Why did I say yes to letting him in? I should leave, I can't control myself with him in my room in my bed with his arms around me-I really can't. But as he sits down I turn into a little puddle of gasoline waiting for his action.

I feel him move in the bed but then there is no contact. Immediantly I regret acting so foolishly and I begin to spit out, "I'm so sorry, Godric. I don't know what came over me, I feel so stupid. Please forg-"

His hand reaches forward and touches my shoulder, "Amie, tell me your dream."

It's like he through a lit match at the center of my puddle and turned me into a giant flame. My mind jumps to the soil and the changing Earth and his arms around me telling me not to move and I feel safe like I'm home and nothing can ever hurt me, not even my dream. Slowly the words come out, "There's a party...and I don't know what the party is for but everyone is there and they're all vampires. I don't know what the party is for though and I don't know where I am but in every corner there is a tv and on the tv I can see moments from when I was kidnapped. But that's not the worst part. I'm in the middle of the party and I'm naked and I'm all by myself and I feel so lonely because no one is looking at me or responding to me and all I do is scream and shout at them to shut off the tv's but no one listens...and just when I get desperate I see you. But you're with someone, you're with a tall blonde man but I can't see his face, and you look like you're having so much fun and I feel so sad because you're having fun without me but then...you look at me and you smile...and I know that sounds ridiculous and stupid but I just felt so sad and so lonely but now I don't feel so lonely. I'm sorry for bo-"

"Do not continue."

My mouth instantly shuts and my body goes stiff but his hand on my arm relaxes and begins to caress me and I'm melted vampire all over again.

"Where I originate from we thought that a dream was a key to the future and those that were able to remember theirs were seen as prophets in some way. In fact dreams were held in the highest regard, so much in fact that it was considered our civil duty to inform the high priest of our dreams if we thought it had even the slightest relevance to our society. In all my years I have yet to have a dream in my slumber and I have yet to meet a vampire that has done the same. I believe your dream can possibly be a vision of some sort, which is not far fetched thinking when you consider that our race is of the supernatural. Would you like me to interpret some parts of your dream, Amie?" with my vampire mind I'm able to listen to his words as I indulge in the presense in the gentle caress of his fingertips on my shoulder.

Softly I nod my head but instead of my dream I think of questions I want him to answer like: where did he originate from? how old is he? But he didn't ask me if I had any questions. He asked me if I wanted an interpretation and as long as he's talking that's all that matters, "Yes, please."

"I've been waiting for the proper time to inform you of an event that will be held in your honor. Originally Isabel and I had hoped it would be a grand occasion but since your encounter with the human we understand it will but much smaller than inticipated. It will be held in my previous nest," he explains in his calm tone but my insides are the exact opposite. An event? In my honor? Nest?

"An event? In my honor? Nest? When? Why? Who's going to be there?" my questions shoot out of my mouth as they pop into my brain and I instantly regret it. I sound like a two year old.

A small chuckle escapes his mouth and I turn over onto my back to peak up at him with a grin. His hand gentle runs down my arm, making me shiver again, and he looks down at me with his calm yet torrent eyes, "Yes. I have yet to explain in full detail my position among the vampire community. I am the Sheriff of Area 9 which includes Dallas, Texas as well as other territories to humans of the United States. As a Sheriff I reign over all vampires in my area and at my age I am respected very highly by many of our species; meaning, many are very excited to meet my new progeny. A nest is a home in which many vampires live together however it is not a requirement. Some vampires do choose to live on their own. For many years I have lived with both Stan and Isabel in our nest but now that I have you to look after I have choosen to leave. The event will be held in four evenings, I believe I answered the next question. And just the oldest vampires of Area 9."

"New progeny?" the sound of 'new' sends a frightening chill down my spine that I'm aware he feels by the turn in his eyes.

"A progeny is a much more intimate term for a new vampire," he has me again. At the word 'intimate' I think of how intimately he is stroking my arm and how intimately he is leaning over me as he answers my question.

My eyes drift from his chin to his lips to his nose and to his eyes and I feel like I'm paiting a picture of his face so I can keep it in my memories forever and I am. Every feature of his face I record because there's nothing that I want to lose in my image of Godric, someone that I want so much, "Godric, what if I'm not ready by then?"

There is a soft smile on his face that makes my stomach flip inside out all over the place. His hand on my arm reaches forward to my face and I can't help but to watch it closely as his fingertips brush over my cheek and my chin. My face instantly bursts into a hurtful blush that makes me want to roll over and hide but I'm too afraid that if I do he'll never want to touch me again. His face comes closer to mine and I stop breathing immediantly, "You are ready now."

My fangs suddenly pop out of my mouth and I roll over at the same instant and shove my face into the pillow, trying to hide from my fangs and Godric's enchanting laughter. His hand rests on my back and the touch of his fingers that were on my face and are now on my back make me shiver all over again and my fangs feel all tingly inside of my mouth and I know Godric can feel this too because his laughter lowers to a delicious kind of softness and I can't help but to hide even deeper inside the pillow and then suddenly the fibers in the fabric snaps and feathers fly everywhere and now Godric is laughing hysterically while I sit up and try to catch the feathers and shove them back into the pillow.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! Don't be mad! Don't be mad at me!" I cry as I flop my arms around but suddenly he grabs my wrists and I turn into a statue.

"Amie, the pillow is fine. There is no concern for it. Now, come on. I have more to teach you this night. Go change while I prepare your TruBlo- Don't make that face, Amie, it's not that bad," he scowlds playfully although I wasn't even aware I was making a face.

His arms slide away and I drop my hands with the feathers sticking to them onto my lap so I can nod obediantly, "Yes, Godric."

He gives a sigh that is so soft I can hardly hear it before looking to me again to smile briefly. I smile in return but he's gone before he can even see it. What am I going to do with him? I get up from my bed and look helplessly at my destroyed pillow. I flex my face slightly and my fangs return to their spot in my mouth but my pillow is still there with no hope of being fixed but there's nothing I can do. I walk to my dressing room and strip off my gown in the same spot I had left it last time. This time I'm not distracted by my body, this time I need to focus on my dress choice and make sure that it's one that Godric will love.

My hands reach out to touch the material of the dresses as I wander through the racks and the shelves but my mind is far away to Godric's hand on my face and the way he whispered_ You already are_ so close to me, close enough to touch. A shiver goes through me just thinking about it but I can't help but to think about it. I've noticed with great pleasure the increasing contact that he makes and I wonder if that means that he is starting to feel for me how I feel for him but how do I feel for him? It feels like so long since that night running away in the snow and the woods but how long could it have really been? Surely not long enough. But still...there is no denying that what I feel for Godric is different, so different. It's scary and exciting at the same time and I remember my mother and my dad talking about how they first met and I remember my dad saying that the first time he realized he loved my mom he was happy and terrified at the same time. I remember my mom saying that when she realized she loved my dad it was on their first date when he pulled her chair out and as she sat down he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Maybe I wasn't in love with Godric exactly but I was about five inches away from it. The way he takes care of me, the way he treats me like a princess, the way he holds me when I'm really devistated, and how patient he is with me, and the way he laughs and his smiles-all of them!-and the way his skin feels against mine when he's comforting me and how he really does care about what upsets me and if I've been crying and the fact that he gave up his nest with Isabel and scary Stan to be with me and the fact that when I said I'd stay with him forever he didn't say no to it and the real fact that each time I have to be away from him feels harder and harder than the last. It has to mean something, all these things I can't stop thinking about. It has to mean something important.

I hear liquid pouring into a glass and I realize that I have been standing in the mirror with a dress pressed against me and a smile on my face. I blush deeply at the thought of Godric coming in the room and seeing me this way, I would definitely get teased this time. I look at the dress and see it is the prettiest shade of blue that matches my eyes and that's all I need. I slip it on and nod my head with satisfaction. The hem of the dress comes out in all different lengths like the dresses the fairies wear in the movies and it's short up to my knees and when I move the lengths flow around me and sparkle like ripples in the water and that makes me think of the pond I have yet to visit!

"Godric?" I ask softly because I know he will answer regardless of how far away I am.

"Yes?" His voice runs through me and I jump a little with surprise because he's so close behind me and I had no idea he would be right there! He starts to chuckle softly at my reaction and immediately I start to blush, "I apologize for frightening you."

I lower my eyes slowly but catch sight of the TruBlood in his hand. I sigh inwardly with disappointment but that doesn't stop me from gulping it down because I'm so, so, so hungry. It goes down gloppy like drippy honey that slides down my throat awkwardly and tastes so gross. But I wipe my mouth clean and ask, "Can we visit the pond."

My eyes jump to his face and I cringe a little because he has that mask and I don't know exactly what he's thinking. He takes the cup from me as he nods his head, "Of course we can."

He turns around slowly as if waiting for me but then he walks ahead and I'm filled with confusion. Did I do something wrong? Maybe it's because I'm not acting as princessy as I should and I realize that's exactly what it is. He just finished telling me that I'm going to have a party...in my honor!...where all of his friends are going to meet me for the first time and judge me and I realize that maybe he's regretting my change and our relationship and the fact that a party will only make everyone else realize it too.

"Amie," my eyes jump forward and I see that Godric is waiting at the door with his hands empty and I haven't moved an inch. I blush softly again and begin to step forward with my head cast downward. His hand touches the back of my hand sending a wave of heat up throughout my body and making me blush even brighter than I had before. I peak up and see the corners of his lips turned upward into a smile and I start to grin all over the place without trying, "Why are you smiling?"

I contimplate not answering for a moment but I know that wont do any good. Eventually he'll get the answer out of me so I might as well give it up. I shrug my shoulders lightly, "Because you are."

I glance up again and grin at the fact that he is blushing now too but instead of commenting he looks forward, "To the pond."

I nod my head quickly, "Yes! To the pond!"

I reach for his hand but before I can grab it he is already two steps ahead. I start to frown but I stop quickly and start to walk after him. Maybe I was wrong to think he was getting closer to me. Maybe I exceded my contact for today with his comforting me. Maybe he has a set amount of contact he promises to give me each day and slowly he is giving me less and less to get me off of him. But that can't be possible. Especially not now that I feel so much.

Godric stops and I stop right after him, waiting for some kind of action but it seems he wants me to do the honors again. He steps to the side and it's now that I realize we're at a door in the hallway I never saw before. Infact we're in a part of the hallway I never saw before. The door is made out of glass and right through it I can see the little bridges and the moon and before I know it I'm watching two fishes swim up to the surface trying to nip at my fingers that aren't in the water yet and this is when I realize I'm at the center of the four bridges peering over into the pond. I pull back quickly and see Godric still at the door watching me with an expression that might be a smile or might not be at all and that makes me so sad because I can't figure out if he's mad at me and I feel like I'm doing everything all wrong again.

"Why are you crying?" the question falls over my features gently and I open my eyes to see he is standing so close to me that I'm surprised again but the second I look up at him I see he looks so tired like he's done with me and I shut my eyes again. "Amie, have I offended you?"

"No," I whisper and I move to lower my face but suddenly I feel the pad of his thumb brush away my tears and I turn into jello-like liquid the fishes can swim in. "Have I offended _you_?"

"What do you mean?" he asks with his hand slowly resting on my cheek, making my tears quickly dry up.

"I feel like I'm doing everything wrong and I don't want to upset you, "I admit as I lean into his hand on my face.

"You can never upset me. It is only I that can upset myself, " he questions and maybe it's his tone that genuinly sounds questioning that makes my tummy go in all different ways or maybe it's just the fact that he's stroking my cheek like he was stroking my arm.

"What does that mean?" I ask as I open my eyes to look up at him now. His face is different again like he's thinking of things I wish I knew and not knowing makes me feel so sad and devistated like I'm lost and I have no control but the less control I feel like I have the more I realize I don't feel this way at all. I'm happy. I'm really happy because his hand is on my face and his mouth is so close to mine and his chest is right against my chest and my hands are up grabbing at long sleeved shirt and I can geel his skin right underneath. I'm the most happy I've been all day. I'm not the one feeling so sad, he is. Before he can answer my stupid question I throw myself against him and wrap my arms so right around his waist that I feel like I might break him if I don't stop but I don't play on stopping at all. "I'm sorry Godric. Don't feel sad please? It's going to be okay. Do you want to hear a joke? I'll tell you a really funny joke and it will make you laugh and feel happy again."

I look up at him now, still holding him tight and I wait for him to give me his answer. The sadness in my chest disperses the longer I wait for him to answer but I'm so afraid he's hiding it somehow, in some way. His face is still stone but reluctantly he nods his head, "Yes."

"Okay," I smile, "So there's this plane and it's flying and on the plane there are four passengers. There's the president of the United States, the smartest man in the world, a priest, and a little boy and their'll on their way to go somewhere but suddenly the pilot gets out of the cockpit. He says to them 'I'm so sorry but there's been this mechanical malfunction and both engines are broken and the plane is going down and there are only three parachutes so sort it out yourselves' and then he grabs a parachute and jumps out of the plane. The president then stands up and says 'I'm the president of the United States I have to live!' and he grabs a parachute and jumps out. The the smartest man on Earth jumps up and says 'I'm the smartest man in the world I have to live!' and he jumps out. And now it's just the priest and the little boy and the priest says, 'Son, I've lived a long life and I know Jesus will save me and I want you to have the last parachute.' But the little boy smiles and says, 'Don't worry! We both still have a parachute, the smartest man took my backpack!"

Silence. Godric doesn't let out a single chuckle but I don't worry because on his lips is the best smile I've ever seen. I lower my face into his chest to hide the fangs that will no doubt peak out and it's then that a small laugh escapes his mouth and I grin as I feel his chest bob against my head. The feeling of sadness is gone completely and is replaced by a feeling of stupidity and silly and I think that feeling is much more acceptable than the other one. Godric's hand on my face slips under my chin and pushes my eyes up to his. He smiles, "Where did you hear that joke?"

I shrug softly, "Allie taught it to me one day when it was really, really cold. I thought it was so funny."

"I did find it very amusing," it's like my fangs have turned into open wounds and each one of his words hits my sensative fangs and makes my mouth water with possibility. "Retract your fangs, Amie."

The way his voice shifts through me forces my fangs back into their hiding spot but it doesn't change his closeness and the way his pink lips call to me like lips have never called before. I remember that man, that vampire, and how his lips weren't pink or soft but I wanted to kiss them because of the way he asked me nicely to sit with him and I had never been kissed before but Godric was different. I want to kiss him now because I know his lips are the ones I've been waiting for my whole life. I want to kiss him now because I know they are waiting for me and I know just like his skin his lips will make me explode all over the place. And I'll be hapy. I'll be very, very happy.

But suddenly he pulls away from me so slowly like he's waiting for me to stop him but before I can he's standing next to me with his hand extended outward, "Shall we walk?"

I want to frown but a crazy joy jumps inside of my chest because he's offering his hand to me! Finally! I take his hand quickly and it feels like each skin cell is kissing mine as deeply as I imagined his lips would kiss my own. My stomach flips again and again as we start to take a few steps but I can sense his uneasiness and I know I have to distract him so I ask, "So...we're extremely strong right?"

"You can say that but yes, we are much stronger than our natural and supernatural counterparts," he says that with a hint of a smirk. I know I should be looking outward like he is but my eyes are glued to him and they can't look away.

"Can we get stronger?" I ask, imaginging that I can become so strong that I can protect him forever and ever from any danger that he might find him.

"With age our strength does increase in multitudes as well as our speed. At my current age I am much stronger than many vampires in the New World," he answers but looking at him I can't believe that answer even though his fingers and his skin prove that he is telling the truth. He's only slightly bigger than me and he looks so calm like he could never fight a person or even defend himself and that scaries me so much I don't know what to do with that information.

"How old are you?" I ask glancing downward. I remember my mom telling me never to ask that question because it makes them feel self-conscious but I don't see how Godric could feel that way.

"A little over two thousand years old," his voice sounds tired but I can't help but to feel so amazed.

"Two thousand years old?! Wow! How?" I shout out with so much awe that I don't realize I'm touching his face and searching for wrinkles. I drop my hand quickly and turn to look away but his hand picks up mine again as if to return it to his face but then he drops it again and I'm stuck with my hand up in the air.

"Yes, over two thousand long years. It is not as magnificent as it appears; I don't find much glory in my grand age any more. But at one point it did seem appealing as it does seem appealing to you now," I feel a sadness in me again and I feel a lonliness that reminds me of how I felt upon waking from my dream but it's different because I know it's coming from Godric. His eyes look away over the water and I can see the storminess in his blue eyes that means he's thinking about things I can never understand.

"Well...you said where you come from dreams are really important. Where were you born? Who was your maker?" I ask, turning my nose to him so I can nudge his shoulder gently, urging him to continue.

"I was born in the first century B.C. on the coast of Gaul but my true origin is unknown. I was abandoned along the coast and would have died if I had not been carried by the current to the knees of an old maid that had been waiting to recieve me. The night before my arrival she had a dream that a present would be delievered to her by the waters and so she treated me like a gift as she raised me and protected me like her own but the children were cruel. I was often tortured and teased by the boys, something not even a mother can defend although she tried. At the age of ten however I began to grown and I could defend myself with my strength and my wit. I began to instigate trouble between the boys but it was this kind of trouble that lead to my entrapment. My mother had a dream that night that demons would capture me and take me away but I did not listen. I waited in the waters where my enemies were fishing and it was there that I could finally defeat them. While they were turned I spilled poison onto the fish in their basket but before I could watch their demise their fathers found me and took me to the elders. As punishment they decided to burn my home down...with my mother in it. Without any protection I hid in the forest and lived amongst the animals and at my vantage point I watched with glee as the Roman armies lead by Alexander the Great destroyed and enslaved everyone that was left in my village. It was then that a love for battle filled my heart and replaced the love I had for my mother, violence was my new caretaker. I came forth from my hiding place and begged to join the army but they took me instead as a slave but with kindness they allowed me to watch the rest of their campaign and even taught me how to wield the weapons they used so expertly. I thought if I could prove myself as a soldier they would accept me but that was naive thinking. Once we returned to Rome I casted aside as if I were an extinct animal head from a dead country. They took me into slavery and in the waiting cages I was forced to fight amongst many for what little scraps of food could be delievered. At this age I was twelve and with my learned techniques I out fought the others and this was noted by those in charge. When they finally took me to be sold me for twice the amount of a regular slave because of my young age and fighting abilities. That caught the attention of a man that no one knew the origin of but many of the slaves cowered behind me and called him _The Night Terror._ He bought two slaves along with I and for me paid the equivilance of twelve thousand American Dollars today but it was not a fairy tale ending. Although it may be hard to believe, I faced much harsher traumas than you can ever imagine at the hands of my master. He revealed to us that he was a Vampire and that if we did not obey his every order he would kill us in ways so slow we would wish for hell. He beat, branded, and abused us in ways that you may find similar but far more terrifying for your abuse was in a country filled with laws that forced your abusers to me discrete. In Rome there were no laws that could protect us and when we screamed there was nothing but miles of silence to respond. He fed on us but when our blood did not tantalize him any longer he forced us to fight to the death for our lives. I won and so he kept me so that I may inflict pain upon the new slaves that he bought month after month. Unfortunately...I was his favorite. At the age of sixteen he turned me transformed me into a vampire but the abuse did not stop there it only grew in multitudes. I was forced to stay at the side of my maker until centuries later I found him at his weakest and murdered him myself. The life of a vampire is sacred and so his murder forced me into trouble that was so great I had to flee and I had lived in the wilderness following the wars that I still loved," his mouth shuts at this point although I know there is still so much more to his life that he hasn't explained but I don't want him to go on. His eyes are a raging storm of pain and anguish and anger and despair and my heart feels like it's going to explode because I want to protect him and I can't protect him from something that has already happened.

I tighten my arms that had snaked their way around his waist around the death of his mother and hold onto him tightly like I'm never going to let go. His story fills me in on a big question I had been way too scared to ask: why he keeps me around. I know now that he wants to protect me from the trouble he faced. He wants to be the Maker he should have had but that answer doesn't make me as satisfied as I thought it would but it releaves a lot of stress. Now I know for certain no matter how terrible I am, he will always be there for me and maybe in that time I can convince him that I he can love him.

How selfish? How can I be thinking about making him love me when he just admitted his life story? Sixteen, just like me. I thought my life was so horrible and I thought no one had ever faced anything as bad as me but here Godric is. So handsome in his sweetness I can't believe the things he had been forced to endure and commit and here he is so self-less in his care for me. I can see him, just a little boy, being pushed around and forced to evolve into a hateful creature. I can see the hate in his little eyes as he watches the house burn, "Amie, are you crying?"

"Godric," I can't speak. I dig my face into his chest and I can't help but to weep because he was so little and maybe things were different then but my Godric was so helpless and why didn't anyone save him? Why didn't anyone help him and his mother? Why was he all alone? My Godric? I can see him cringing in the corner of the sell just like me, so afraid, but so much braver because he survived and did things I couldn't. He sought vengence and he destroyed the person that did those things to him...but they were already done, my Godric.

"What is the matter?" He's trying to grab my face but I keep pulling it away and the sound of his voice so genuinly caring makes me even sadder because how can he care so much now after having to go through all of that? I don't know how I could live, "Please."

"I'm so angry! I wish I could go back there and I could save you and I could protect you and I wish I could help you like you helped me and I wish I could stop them from doing that to you and I wish I could hurt them all and I can't!" my tears stop because the anger makes them go away and I feel like I could rip our house down with my hands but I wont because it wont make it better and realizing this makes the anger fly out of me and now I know the only way to make the past disappear is to give Godric so amazing the past wont ever matter again.

"Amiena, do-"

His sounds angry but I stop him quickly again by placeing my hand over his mouth and whispering quickly, "I know how I can fix it. I know what I can do. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to make you so happy every day for the rest of our lives and I'm going to make you so happy that all the happiness will out weigh the bad so when you think back on your life you won't ever have to think back to that past ever again. I'm going to give you everything your Maker didn't, okay? I'll make sure you're never sad again."

His eyes.

They are rimmed with red; I can't believe I failed already. I reach my hand up to his face but before I can his arms fly around me and crush me so tight to his chest I feel like I can't breathe and I realize that he is so strong, so very strong that he can make me fall into two pieces without even trying and I realize that he isn't and he's hugging me and maybe he's crying or maybe he's not but he's hugging me and now I'm crying because I start to feel even happier than I ever felt in my life because maybe, just maybe, he'll let me love him in all the ways I promised.


	7. Chapter 7

Time.

In Godric's arms I discover that time is a weird thing. Time for vampires isn't measured in seconds or minutes or hours or days or weeks or months or years. Time is measured in the little things. Time is measured in silence, in the number of breaths that fall across my face, in how long it takes for Godric to pull away. Time is measured in distance. And I expect there to be a wide distance between us when he pulls away, like there always is, but instead I'm very, very, very much happily surprised.

His arms fall loosely around me but he's still so close to me, almost closer than he's ever been. His face has a gentleness that I've never seen before, like he's relaxed for the first time. His smile is out in the open like there are no more locks and I feel so happy because maybe they got unlocked because of me. I try to keep my hands on his middle but my hands feel like they've over-stayed their welcome so reluctantly they drop.

"Shall we continue the walk?" he asks as we pull apart but, for some reason that's so amazing, it's not a complete pull away. I don't know what's keeping us together, because my hands are at my sides and his hands are at his, but maybe it's our eyes that have become locked in the middle. Out of no where I realize that I've been staring so deeply into them like I'm a little fish caught in his big puddle, "Amie?"

I blush brightly and pull my eyes apart finally-which takes a lot of effort. I look back at the pond water and I peak over the railing and that's when I see the railing itself. The railing is really thick, thick enough to walk on and just the thought sounds so cool I'm hooked! I nod my head quickly and look back at him, "Wait! Give me your hand!"

I shout this as I start to push myself up with my left arm but he slows me down with his question, "What are you doing, Amie?"

"Wait!" I exclaim as I take his extended hand and use it to propel me upward onto the railing but in fact I didn't need his help! I didn't even use it! I used my left arm and I felt like a gymnist and it was so cool that I just got up with one move and now I'm standing on the railing like it's nothing. I laugh softly and look at Godric looking up at me with my hand in his and I grin, "I always wanted to do this."

"You have?" he has a tiny little smirk on his face like he did when he was teasing me and it makes me blush all over the place.

I shake my head honestly as my fingers entangle with his, "Not always but still."

He lets out a little chuckle like wind-chimes in a breeze and I giggle with him as we begin to walk, "Does this mean you won't lie to me any longer?"

I nod my head sheepishly as I lift up my left arm to feel the breeze go through me and the dress, "I'm going to make you happy and I know lying makes you sad."

"So I may ask you any question and you will give me an honest answer, always?" the sound of his voice makes me turn my head to look at him. It sounds soft and scared and a little hollow and frightened by the possibility.

"Forever," I say as I try to meet his eyes but he wont let me. He's looking ahead so instead I make the promise with my thumb and his and I rub my thumb against his as I repeat, "Forever."

"Where did you learn to shoot so well?" Godric asks me but I'm a little too caught off-gaurd to answer. Did he really want to know that of all things? I open my mouth to ask that but instead I'm eyes get caught on something else. From my position the water looks like glass or still jello with little things living inside and the grass and the leaves and the flowers and the fishes, it's like I can HEAR them talking. don't really focus on his question. Instead I focus on one foot going in front of the other as I walk along the railing of the bridge we are on and I focus on his hand keeping me balanced although we both know being a vampire makes us very very balanced

I'm so focused on the talking and the way he holds my hand to keep me balanced when in fact we both know that being a vampire makes me very, very balanced anyway that I answer absent-mindedly, "My grandpa was in the army for his whole life so when I was little he taught me. It started with darts and then as I got older bows and arrows and when I turned fourteen he got my mom's permission to take me to the shooting range. He taught me self-defense stuff too and he tried to teach me how to fight but my dad wouldn't let him. He said he didn't want me to be a bully or anything so self-defense was as far as I went."

I start to wobble a little but only because I pay too much attention to the fishes in the water and when I start to catch myself I realize that it feels so much more fun to be between falling into the pond or falling into Godric's arms. I glance over at him and see he has his eyes ahead at the sky, before I used to wonder what was so special about it but with my new sight I see the beauty of all that far away stuff. Godric asks, "What else did he teach you?"

"He taught me how to cook! But my mom never let me try because she said I might burn down the kitchen," I stand on my tippy-toes to see if it makes a difference but it doesn't make much of one, I'm still as comfortable as I would be if I were standing still. "He said he was going to teach me how to dance the waltz but that never happened."

"Because of your sudden departure?" He glances up at me in a way that makes me feel so speacial like he's really listening to me, like he's trying to understand me, and in fact I know he is.

But the turn of the questions is making me sad all over again because I think of my grandpa and how he used to take care of me like Godric does and how he would like Godric but I don't know if he liked vampires or not. I shake my head and look down at the wood I stand on top of, "No...because he died. It was in his sleep and it was peaceful so it wasn't that bad. It in January...it's coming up. We were supposed to go away on vacation for the anniversary to his favorite place. He had a house in California and we used to go every winter for vacation and we were going to go again...we were going to keep up the tradition. I forgot about that."

"Did you..love him?" the way Godric says _love_ reminds me of how he says _lover_, like he's hardly ever used the word before and he's embarresed to use it. It makes my tummy get all wobbly and it makes me forget that I was crying and it makes me feel bad...like I shouldn't be this nervous when I'm thinking about my grandpa and I'm really, really so sad.

I can't nod my head because my head is filled with how I walked into his room after New Year's with the breakfast said I couldn't make on the tray's he used to bring to me. I was whistling his favorite song, I Only Have Eyes For You by the Flamingos, as I kicked open the door gently with my foot and I couldn't help but to be so excited because it was the first time I had ever cooked by myself. But when I opened the door I saw him sleeping there and I knew he was gone. Everytime I would come through the door he would always wake up, always look up at me, so when I saw him sleeping there the tray slipped through my fingers and I started to cry for help and my dad and my mom ran to me and saw him there and they knew too. I whisper softly, "I love him so much."

I try not to cry anymore but I can't help it because I realize I haven't thought about him since my birthday and I haven't gotten over it, not even a little bit, "What was it that you loved so much?"

"My dad said that when he was in the army he did really, really bad things to people. My dad said he killed over 100 Hundred people and he never felt bad. My dad said he was mean and he was a bully and he used to do horrible things to everyone and no one liked him because he was so mean...but he was so nice to me. He loved me so much and he took care of me so much and he always made me feel important and cared for and he always wanted me around and he always let me know that I was safe and...," my voice catches and I swallow hard on the pain inside my throat and I wipe my eyes quickly, trying to slap away the ugly red because I don't want to think about it.

"And?" Godric's voice is a whisper that dives into my saddness and makes me feel happier again.

But still, he's still gone and if I could I'd keep this part from Godric I would but I promised I'd be honest and leaving even a little part out isn't honesty, "And I think the part that made me love him the most was the fact that he changed."

Change, sometimes I forget about that. He did change. He died when happy. He told me it was the happiest night of his life. He did say that. I look to Godric and can't help but to burst out laughing from his expression. I cover my mouth and try to stop myself but his face is so confused and he looks awkward like he has no idea what to do and it makes me laugh so much because I always love to laugh after I cry and this is a really good reason to laugh. His brows furrow as he looks up at me and he asks, "Why do you laugh, Amie?"

I shake my head quickly as I look at him, trying not to laugh because I know he's really confused and worried about me, "It's you and it's me and I'm sorry. I bet people don't cry in front of you often."

His face turns all red like someone poured in a blush into his cheeks. He turns his face away and tries to drop his hand but I hold onto it tight as he answer, "No. They do not."

I grin softly and drop down onto the bridge and turn around in front of him. It feels so weird to go from being so tall above everything and to no drop down to where I was before but I enjoy it because my drop accidentally made me closer to him. I keep a hold of his hand tightly so that he doesn't let go, something that I know he might want to, and I smile, "They should. You're good to talk to."

"I am?" his brows are furrowed as he looks down at me like he thinks I'm lying but in fact I'm telling the truth. Without his questioning and without his talking and comforting I wouldn't feel as emotionally free as I do now.

I nod as I turn around, "You are."

"Wait," it's my turn to be confused. I wait paused between turning forward and turning backward with my eyes stuck on him, waiting for the next command. Instead of a command though, I get a really blush-inspiring question, "Would you still be interested in learning the Waltz?"

My face opens wide, my mouth, my eyes, even my nostril's, as I exclaim," Yes! Please!"

He laughs his little laugh that sounds old and hardly used but I'm way too excited to be embarresed by my reaction. In his vampire quickness he lifts up my right hand and drags it because it's made out of noodle at our shoulder length as he shifts the positioning of our hold. His left hand comes around my waist and holds me up tightly and firmly as if he's never ever going to let go and all I can do is weakly lift up my left arm to his shoulder. He has his little teasing smile as he whispers, "Close your eyes, Amie, and for this instance allow yourself to release the hold you have created over your body and its needs. Once you have freed yourself you will find it very easy to follow my actions like a puppet to the hand controlling it. Before you are aware of it, you will find that you are dancing."

I follow his instructions as soon as the last word comes out of his mouth. I close my eyes tightly and try to clear my mind but really all I can focus on is Godric moving me this way and that and my body tripping over his feet and I'm thinking about how it would be no different with my Grandpa teaching me because I'm a very bad dancer and a very slow learner. But maybe...I grin to myself and before he can ask why I hop up onto the top of his feet and let him move me around. I know that it's cheating but being on his feet makes us so close I can feel the words he doesn't say dance along my lips and maybe he can feel the words I don't say fall across his. _I love you_ is what I want to say. _Thank you so much_ I want to say too but I feel like saying one before the other would cancel the second thing out. Like he'll think I'm saying I love him because I'm so thankful or he'll think I'm pretending to be thankful because I love him. But I don't want to think about that. Maybe if I say thank you now though, he'll know I mean it when I say I love you later.

I begin to open my mouth to say I don't feel like I can follow his actions but before I do he steps back and my feet fall off of his and suddenly I feel a pull that makes me move forward. My legs take action quickly and then my torso and then my chest and every part of me and it's so weird. It feels like...like there's invisible ribbon that someone tied around our wrists and our waists and our ankles that doesn't allow us to be too far apart. It's like he's a magnet and I'm a group of nails or metal pins or something that follows around like a puppy dog trying to jump into the air. It's so subtle and so discreet but it moves me to my core and keeps me attached to him so much to the point that I'm dancing, really dancing! and I wonder if this is why I always know where he is even when he surprises me. Is this the connection he was talking about, is this the pull that keeps our emotions connected?

"You are a natural," he comments and I can hear the smile on his face before I open my eyes to see it. I look down at us and see that it's true, I'm dancing the waltz at a skill even to Godric's and from what I see we look great!

"I have a good partner," I reply absent-mindedly but when I look up I see his face is flushed again as if I said something silly like he is the most handsome man I've ever seen in the world and I've seen a lot of boys.

"I beg to differ," is all that manages to come out of his mouth and the way his mouth moves to get these words out is so adorable that before I can react my body leans up to kiss him but thankful he has suddenly spun us around in a way that gets me back into my right state of mind. He asks now, "Amie, I have been meaning to bring up a subject that you may find of great annoyance."

"But Godric, I don't think anything you say is...annoying," I say as he lets go of me and guides me into a little spin that makes my dress fly up and look like a whirl pool of sparkles!

"It is concerning your educa-"

"Godric!" I groan as I return to his hold. My education? "But I'm a vampire now Godric! Doesn't that mean I don't have to be educated anymore?"

"On the contrary, Amie, it is the exact opposite. You must learn even more now than you were ever expected to because of your extraordinary capacity to retain information. You might find it difficult to fathom but trust me, an educated vampire is far more respected than one that is ignorant,"he explains with so much amusement like I'm a little child that's refusing to go to bed.

"But Godric, I bet no othe vampire has to further their education," I continue to protest, making my actions sluggish and slow while his are still on point.

"Most vampires have been turned at an age in which the schooling of their time has been complete. Most vampires have actually been turned when there was no establishment of teaching but I do promise they all have continued their learning at one point or another. Isabel attends a college once every Century while Stan has the habit of becoming fixated on various activities and spending years understanding every detail that pertains to the subject he has become interested in. He is most interested in fighting techniques, every decade he dedicates to a new one. I even forced Eric to pursue an interest in some form of schooling after 500 years and he decided upon business as well as other subjects. It all becomes very easy once you find one that fills you with a passion and yurning for fufillment," he must have known my resistance would fall with just one word, that's why he decided to drown me in the way his voice gets so lively and excited so that I wont protest a second longer.

But there was something terrifying in his explanation. He said the name Eric again and for some reason that name scares me a whole lot in a way that I don't understand. I look up at Godric and feel my eyes start to get blurry but I can't understand why just yet but maybe it's because I'm afraid to ask the question as soon as the words leave my mouth, "Who's Eric?"

"Eric is my first child, Eric is my other progeny."

Other progeny? Now I know why I'm so afraid. Other progeny, 500 years old, "How old is he?"

"He is one thousand years of age."

One thousand. That means he's been with Godric one thousand years longer than I have. That means that he's the favorite. That means no matter how much I can convince Godric to love me he will always love this Godric so much more. That means that he will always choose him above me and that he will always care for him more and that means that he's better than me because he must be tall and he's one thousand years strong and he must be able to take care of Godric better than I can or ever will and that means...I don't know but suddenly I feel so sad like I'll never ever be able to live up to him, "Where is he?"

"He is currently a Sheriff in the state of Louisiana where he and his own progeny Pam run a business by the name of Fangtasia."

"He runs a business?" I ask and for some reason my voice starts to crack and before I know it I start crying and I dig my face into Godric's chest and I wrap my arms around him so that he doesn't escape and run to Eric because he must be more fun and even more smart because he has his own business and he's responsible enough to have his own child and I'm not good enough to do anything, "You love him more than me don't you?!"

"Amie! Stop this at once! There is no excuse for your behavior and there is no justification for your reasoning and I will not give that ridiculous notion and more acknowledgement. Release me at once," his voice is so harsh and angry and that makes me cry more because I've upset him and I can't let go now!

"How can I make you love me when he's so much better?!" I cry and the more I cry the more ridiculous I feel because this Eric has had over one thousand years to make Godric love him and so he deserves his love and all the reasoning makes me cry because I'm so foolish and stupid.

Something happens and Godric seems to slump down and deflate and that scares me so much because what if he's hurt! I pull back to look up at him and I see his face is still and weak and he looks so hurt when he asks, "With all that we have discussed in our with one another, with all that I have given you? Do you really believe you must convince me to care for you?"

He looks so sad and he looks so hurt and I can feel inside my chest that he's mad at himself and it's such a painful feeling and I feel so stupid for making him feel that way and I have to explain it to him! I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight and I shake my head quickly, "No! Godric! The problem is that I can't believe it! A-And I feel like I don't deserve it and I can't believe that someone like you, someone so good and so nice and so sweet and so wonderful and so powerful and so grand and so handsome and so," his arms go around me, "everything under-the-sun, can even think twice about someone like me and I just want you to love me like I love you so and I'm scared that you've already given all of your love to someone else!"

For some reason I'm still crying although I feel a million times better having all the crazy emotions I've been feeling out in the air and explained. Before, for those five seconds before I went coo-coo, I felt like a crazy ball of psycho but now I feel real...like I'm not possessed by some emotion demon that wants me to go nuts all over the place. And having his arms around me makes me feel even more like a real person and not like a crazy nut job. There's the measurable silence again that feels like infinity building up to say something but I don't want him to speak. I want to stay quiet forever in this little moment but he does speak, "I fear that you may never understand the depth of my devotion until you yourself have your first child. There is no such thing as caring more or less, those are simply illusions of the limited human mind. My blood is in you, Amie, and that is all. No matter how far you go or where you run I will always...care for you as strongly as I do in this moment. And just how strong that is you will never know."

His words are reassuring but he was going to say _love_ and he asked me to be his _lover_ and there has been nothing yet and all of that raises a question in me that hurts so bad it has to come out. I don't pull my face away from the embrace but timidly I peak my eyes upward and ask the question in the tiniest voice I have, "Godric...do you love me.._really_ love me? As in..._more _than a child...and more than a progeny?"

Before my last word is completed he pulls away and angrily snaps, "I grow tired of this discussion and will have no more of it. When you have rid your mind of its incessant compulsion to disregard important matters for childlike notions you may find me in my study. Until then there is a library and I suggest you make good use of it."

And then he disappears with his fastness off the bridge and the door shuts behind him so loud like he meant to slam it on purpose but I'm not sad. I'm furious. I'm so angry by his reaction because and his stupid face and his stupid niceness and his stupid comforting and his stupid teasing and his stupid mixing up of everything and his stupid need to run away and stupid Eric that is one thousand years better than me and everything else that is so stupid and infuriating I can't understand. I want to yell and scream at Godric but I know I can't do that so instead I decide to get back in a secret way that will give me satisfaction and him only a little displeasure.

I jump into the pond water with a big splash that hits all the windows and I dive down real deep and cover myself with all the wet mud from deep down bellow and get as dirty as I can because the water and the mud just flies away like it's too afraid to get on me but I tell it that it's okay, I want to be dirty, and then it starts to listen and everything gets on me and my beautiful dress. I jump out of the water and land on the bridge and when I know I'm all dirty and wet I stomp off the bridge in slow human pace and stomp all around the house until I find the library he mentioned. I'm happy because the floor and where ever there is carpet is all diry and messy and gross and even I look messy and gross and I look at the big room filled with a large table to sit at and all the books that lines the walls on shelves I think I can get him more upset by reading it all before he can make me.

But half way through the books I realize something awful. I'm not going to be mad at Godric forever. And when we do make up I'll want to read the books he wants me to and better yet I'll want us to read together. And even if he doesn't love me like I love him and even if he never loves me at all...I'll still want him to read to me sometimes. I'll still want him to explain things I already understand. I can't have that closeness if I've read all the books in the library. I can't have anything if beaten him to it.

So I shut Brave New World and I leave it on the table next to the sloppy pile of books I've gone through and I decide that I should wash up so I don't mess up my bed...but then...I'm still terribly upset with him because he doesn't love me and he said _When you have rid your mind of its incessant compulsion to disregard important matters for childlike notions you may find me in my study _and I haven't rid the idea that love is the most important matter...I might as well make a mess of one more thing but I'm not sure if I want to make a mess of the bathroom or my bedroom...maybe I won't touch those but I'll sleep on the coffee table like I used to when I was a kid! That used to do the trick with my parents, maybe that will work for him too!

I run to the livingroom and curl up on the coffee table even though my bed time is still a few hours away. In my experience the longer on the table, the more effective it is. So I wait on the table with my arms around myself and slowly fall asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

"Pitiful. Never in my years have I ever witnessed such a pitiful display as what lays before my eyes. I am simply at a complete loss for action. How can I possibly react?" Godric's tone is panicked and disturbed completely by what is in front of him. And what is in front of him is Amie curled up on the coffee table in the livingroom, caked in filth, at only 3:31 A.M. with the appearance that she has been there for many hours.

"Send me a picture," Eric says in a monotone voice that implies that he is focused on Godric's words while also being focused on something else. That something else is the crowd of humans and vampires taking a break from their miserable lives at _Fangtasia_ many, many miles away.

"What's wrong now?" Pam appears before Eric in her black leather dress showing every curve that is hidden and yet on display with her cold uncaring features turned into a slight smirk, "Someone tried to take your picture again?"

Eric simply waves her away as back in Dallas Godric looks at the photo of Amie with complete and other saddness. He presses the send button and puts the cell phone back to his ear waiting for Eric's advice but instead he gets a loud tangle of chuckles that are completely uncharacteristic of Eric and only cause Godric more fear, making him furiated. He hisses in the voice that creates action, _"Enough of your laughter, Eric, this is a serious matter."_

At once Eric's mouth shuts and the laughter is ceased. The action is so mechanical that it is obvious to Pam that from far away Eric's maker had given him a command that even he must obey. She says nothing but the smile on her face says it all, she is very amused. Eric sends her away and she drifts back to her post checking I.D.'s at the door, bitch work. Eric returns his eyes to the image of the little girl curled up into a dirt ball on the coffee table that, knowing Godric, must have cost a fortune. Even from the choppy photograph Eric can tell that she is beautiful and it is this beauty that is stopping Godric from taking to her the appropriate way. Eric responds, "Forgive me, father, but if you remove yourself from the situation you have to admit this is quite amusing. A two thousand year old vampire bested by his new child? It's comical."

"The reason for my call was not to inspire your drudgery with a boast of humor," Godric's voice holds none of the softness he began the call with. His voice is cold and demanding and authoritative, all things that fill Eric with a bitter chill he is used to but can't help but to find a new sense of jealousy. He doesn't speak to her this way, "I require your assistance in this matter regardless of how _comical_ it may be, however, if this task proves to tryin-"

"No. Forgive my outburst, Godric, it was out of place. It will not happen again. It is obvious that you have to discipline the little one. This may be her first act of rebellion but you still have to prove who is leading and who is following. Granted this is as minor as rebeling gets, it still is no reason for a complete lack of action," Eric answers, finding it tiring that he must repeat to Godric what he himself had said when the roles were reversed. The night Pam had tied Eric in his coffin so that she may go out into the land and roam on her own Eric had called Godric with the same question and it was he who had suggested he hold her out into the sun for just three seconds so that she may understand what would happen to her if she were to leave on her own. How things have changed.

"What do you suggest my action consisit of?" Godric asks with his eyes unable to look away from Amie, still not stired in her forced slumber. Her hair falls in black and gold curls along her cheek-probably tickling her nose-as her chest falls up and down weakly-probably constricted by the dress she still wears. It's terrifying the sense of helplessness that consumes him in this situation, the mere fact he must inform Eric of his lack of control disgusts him. He remembers when he had forced Eric to make his child meet the sun, such a horrible pain so strong even Godric himself felt it reciprocated through his bond with Eric. How was he so ruthless? He could never imagine forcing Amie to do the same.

"Pull her over your knee and spank her like the child she insists on behaving like," Eric suggests carelessly, finding this the only mild form of punishment that Godric might accept. Godric doesn't speak and Eric can tell he is in wordless shock so he continues, "Godric, you have spoiled her rotten. This is the only course of action. Trust me, it works. Why else do you think Pam is so suddenly," at the mention of her name Pam peaks her little head in with a raised brow that suggests she heard Eric's comment and is interested in a new lesson, "obedient."

"No. Physical harm is out of the question," it was almost too hard for Godric to get this out of his mouth. With this reply it was an admitance to something Eric could hear and feel even through the distance of years that had seperated them.

Eric's eyes fall downward, away from the haze of people he must endure every night, to the memories of his times with Godric and how he would joyfully yank young girls, younger than Amie, from their beds at night to have his fun. It was obvious that Godric had been changing for years from that being to the one on the phone with him now. Eric could tell by the lack of enthusiasm for general life in Godric's voice from that phone call...that terrifying phone call not too long ago...that Godric was tired, very tired, and that frightened him. But he hoped with the trip and now with turning Amie he would return to himself completely, the old ruthless Godric that was so fun, but it was evident that he was still long gone. No physical harm, not even to teach a lesson. It was the admittance of the death of the old...but still...Eric had felt something stir inside of himself a feeling that he had never felt from Godric before. Maybe it was the death of the old Godric...but maybe it was the birth of a new, "Well then...What spawned this reaction?"

Silence. How could he possible explain to Eric in a way that would make him understand? Since the arrival of Amie, since the first time he had seen her, something had painfully changed inside of him. How could he explain this when he didn't understand it himself? How could he explain how painful it was to have her, how painful it was to feel for her, how painful it was for her to feel for him, and most importantly how painful it was to admit that? How could he explain to his son that this night-with all her tears and all her words-was too much for him?

"Godric," Eric's voice was strong, like a father forcing his son to admit the wrong he had done. Eric was not afraid to speak to his maker in this tone. Their relationship was a symbiotic one that allowed them to continually switch the roles of authority that were hardly used any longer.

"It began after my teaching of the Waltz in the courtyard, I had informed her of your existance. She immediantly grew terrible with jealousy and suggested that you were favored more than she. To which I explained that more or less does not exist amongst our kind and to which she battled that...she is frightened by the notion that our thousand year existance with one another will limit my ability to...care for her aswell. I responded that as a maker I will continually care for my children regardless of time or place and that is when she asked me...if I...if I cared for her more than a child. At that point I had grown tired of her questioning and told her so. I sent her to the library to catch up on the studies she has missed and when I came to find her...you have the picture," at the end of his explanation Godric felt very proud of himself for truly giving Eric the full truth about the situation without having to reveal the parts he was unable to reveal to himself-how Amie's body felt, so little and weak inside of his arms that promised to protect her; how Amie smelt in her closeness, her hair and her breath having the oddest scent of peaches while the rest of her body smelt like ocean waters; how soft her skin was pressed aaginst the little places that he did allow to touch; how he would have kissed her...how he might have done that.

"And do you?" the words came out with the invisible trail that Eric was unable to let continue on. _And do you love her, more than a child? More than me? _It had been years since he had been released from Godric, but still. It was in the way he explained the situation and it was in the way he was unable to say the word...the simple word that he used freely with Eric in times when death was certain or when they were spaired. He shouldn't feel this way, surely Godric had felt the same way when Eric had choosen to make Pam his child. Surely this is just childish insecurities that have no place in this world.

He got him. It was silly of Godric to think that Eric wouldn't understand what was laying beneath the words. For this instance he had underestimated their bond that was no doubt stronger than any other Maker/Child bond they had come across, second only to Eric's own bond with Pamela. While Godric felt joy in this second for their ability to still pick upon each other's hidden words...there was still the question to answer. _And do you?_ Did he? What ever his answer was he knew that he could not lie to Eric. It would be foolish on his part and disrespectful to the progeny he cared so greatly for...but did? Eric was waiting on the other end for his answer, so unwillingly he did reply, "I don't know."

"Maybe you should explain this to her before you decide your next course of action. It is evident that she is in love with you and in this fragile state in her life denying her affection could prove harmful to both you and her. I advize against neglecting the situation occured, she proves willing to outlast in emotional endurace," there is an audible sigh from Godric's end that Eric chooses to ignore because of Pam's return. She cocks her head to the side and motions toward the front door to a man and a woman that appear to not stand out from the crowd of humans but upon closer inspection it is evident that around the woman's neck is a silver necklace that matches the silver bracelet around the man's wrist.

"Thank you, my Child," Godric says although this suggestion is not reassuring. The thought of admitting his affection to Amie and his inability to contain such affections was more painful than watching her cry...because in fact she just may cry because of what he may say.

"Any time, oh and one more thing," Eric says absent-mindedly as he sits up slightly with more interest in the couple than the conversation, "We never went dancing in the moonlight."

Silence.

Godric stood stone still with his eyes on Amie's form and his hand still position with the cell phone to his ear. Eric. He would get him back for that for it was that statement that said it all, that forced all of his actions into the light of his own eyes. They had never went dancing in the moonlight. He had never done many things for Eric that were now customary for little Amie. But that was his excuse. She was so little and fragile while Eric was strong and durable, he could take the beatings she was given with a laugh. If he disciplined her even a fraction of the ways he had disciplined Eric she would fall to pieces. He could not do that to her, even the thought was devistating. To imagine the pain she had endured her life and to image adding more to it, he could not bring himself to do raise even a finger of objection to her unless..

He couldn't bring himself to think about it. But with her he didn't have to think, he soley acted. Whether it was to console her or to control himself he was doing something that occupied the time he would need to think about or admit how he felt for her. The only thing he could admit to himself was the he did not want to see her harmed, he hated to see her cry, and yes, he did love to see her smile and to hear her laugh. But that was all. There was nothing more he could do for himself unless he wanted the reprocussions he was not willing to face.

Time.

It had always been his greatest enemy. Time uncovered all truths and sure enough time would reveal that Amie's affection was soley do to her commitment to her creator. But still...Eric's assurance rang in her ears: _we never went dancing in the moonlight._ Maybe that comment explained both situations..but it couldn't. That was just for Godric.

Enough.

Godric silenced his thoughts by looking back to poor Amie curled on the hard table. He was tempted to leave her there so she may feel succesful in her triumph but then he thought of the humans that came to clean and replenish the TruBlood and the dresses. They needed to open the door she laid in front of. He would not allow her to face the sun without any protection. So he stepped forward and lifted her into his arms, half expecting her to awaken but again there was nothing. Poor Amie, she weighed close to nothing-there was no strain on his arms. Her face was turned away and that brought him a little joy because at least her hair wouldn't bother her again. But she looked so beautiful sleeping, as she had when he had found her covered in blood. He was almost too late back then but somehow, by some miricle, she had been saved. He remembered watching her fight like the warriors that seemed to have died off with the inventions of guns that created cowards. He was so brave and so selfless, he had never seen anyone care so little for their own safety in battle and be so succesful when taking into consideration her tiny frame. He thought her grandfather was a great man to have taught her what he had but selfishly he was glad for his death. He knew if her grandfather were still alive he would have saved Amie before Godric could get to her and he was happy to have her now. Happy for once in his long life.

But that was enough thinking. He walked Amie to her room and thought it so strange how the night had begun and how the night had ended. He laid her on her bed, allowing her to continue to be filthy so she may feel satisfied that he did give in. He did not look at her after he let her down, instead he quickly left her and returned to his chambers. As he shut the iron curtain he knew that if he did stay, he would be too tempted to lay beside her and watch her slumber through out the entire day.


	9. Chapter 9

In my dream the blonde haired man tells me that he loves me and that he's never going to let anything happen to me ever again as long as I don't think about Godric. We're standing by the water and I can hear crying, I think, but I don't know where it's coming from. The sun is out but it looks like it's painted in the sky but the water is definitely moving. The blonde man says it again, that he'll love me forever but I have to give Godric up. And I feel so sad because I can't. Even if he hates me I have to love him, forever and ever. But I can't say no to the blonde man. So I stay quiet and I look at the ground but there is no ground. Instead there are snakes that make the ground look like it's breathing but as the blonde haired man asks again the snakes stop like their holding their breath...but still I don't answer.

A loud BOOM pulls me from my sleep and I wip upward to find the threat but all I can see is my room. My room...oh no. I throw myself backwards onto my pillow and cover my face because the only person that could have brought me to my room is Godric and he's mad at me. Ugh! I can just imagine him lifting me up and looking at me like I'm the most pathetic person in the world and I am! I can't believe how I acted last night, I can't believe that I was so stupid. I really should have just accepted that he said he cared for me and I shouldn't have pushed anything and I should have apologized after I did and I shouldn't have gotten so dirty!

Dirty!

I jump from the bed and run into the hallway to see if my muddy tracks are still in the carpet but to my surprise, and relief, they're gone. I sigh softly but I still don't feel comfortable with myself, I feel horrible. Poor Godric, after all the good things he's done for me-

Wait.

C_hildlike notions..._that's what he called my love for him. Just child like notions_._

Yes, it's true I shouldn't have been so silly as to throw my feelings in front of him but still! They aren't childlike notions! How could he call them that! And not to mention he said that I can't see him until I've rid them from my mind but what do I do if I can't. _If_ I can't? There's no doubt that I'm in love with him, especially now with my dream still fresh in my mind, I know it's true. I love him and I love him so much that it hurts to remember how he reacted when I simply asked if he loved me more than a progeny. But even more than that...the real pain comes from not having him at my side, not having his hand in mind, not having his attention. I can't deny it, I want him next to me. I want him here. But still...I can't give in and pretend I just don't feel how I do.

But still I can't be so childish either.

I look down at myself and see that I'm still as dirty as I was last night. I can't even remember how I got so dirty or what I was even thinking when I did! As soon as I comprehend how filthy I look I run as fast as I can, tip-toeing so Godric can't hear me, to the bathroom. But it's no use. I can hear Godric getting up from his bed, even with the bathroom door shut behind me so I know he heard me go to the bathroom and hide. I can't even imagine what he must think of me. I'm too afraid to find out what he thinks for certain because all I can remember is him yelling at me and I don't want him to yell at me anymore.

I begin to glance around the bathroom but I stop myself, I don't want to look at myself in the mirrors because I know I'll just burst into tears at the sight of myself. Instead I pull off my dress and leave it piled on the floor while I walk to the bath tub. I know I'm no princess, especially not the princess that Godric deserves. I look into the bathtub and sigh with the memories of my first bath as a vampire, it was so fun and such a big difference from now. But I can't think about that. Instead I think about how cool the showerhead looks as a long metal pole attacthed to the end of the tub like the sail of a ship on the sea. I turn on the showerhead and step back to look at it and the only image that comes to mind is the awesome image of myself and Godric has pirates in this bathtub battling a storm...how great would that be.

But as I get back into my mind I realize something odd...there's no shower curtain to wrap around the tub...hmm...without my control my mind jumps to the possibility that Godric would step into the bathroom as I showered and would see me and would grab me and hold me and kiss me like the men would take the other girls but I shake my head to stop the thoughts. Godric is better than those men, much better. I step into the shower a little afraid that I would dirty it but as soon as I step in my fear scatters right out of my head!

The water feels so amazing! It feels like little sparkles attacking my skin and a burst of giggles escapes my mouth even though I try so hard to put it back down into myself it just keeps coming out! The water gets all over me and it instantly soaks me up and gets all the dirt and the blood tears dried on my face off and when I look down at the tub I see that the tub isn't even dirty! The water works like a hose and makes all the dirty water go straight down the drain. I glance over the edge of the tub to see if the water is spilling out of the tub but instead of looking at the floor I see the small dirty spot where my dress used to be is empty and there's a fresh towel on the toilet seat which can only mean one thing...Godric took it.

A bright blush jumps onto my face because that means he must have seen me in the shower and he must have seen me naked and he must be sorry for being so mean because he didn't yell at me when he came in! I can't help but to grin wildly to myself at the thought of Godric coming in so quick, so quick I didn't even notice, and trying not to look at me or trying to look at me, I don't know! I think to myself, he has to love me. If he's still being so nice to me he has to love me, even just a little bit, even if not the way I love him! And isn't that what he was saying all along? How could I be so stupid to try to deny that? He's given me so much-this no house, this new life, all of my clothes and all of the hugs and stuff-all of that would mean nothing if he didn't care.

I turn off the shower quietly, even though it makes no difference how I do it, and I step out, quickly wrapping the towel around myself just in case Godric might walk in again and see me. Just feeling the towel around me reminds me of Godric's arms and how they held me last night and suddenly I want to run to my dressing room and find the prettiest dress there to show him that I was just being silly before and I'm really not that messy at all but I pause in front of the large mirror. I have to make sure that I'm all clean and luckily I am, the shower really works! But I still have to get dressed. I open the door slowly and peak my head out into the hall to make sure Godric isn't there and of course there's only silence to tell me where he is.

I sneak out into the hallway quietly, even though it's still useless, and run into the dressing room, shutting the door behind me so fast I'm almost dry. I hear in the distance a step being taken and I know it's Godric and I know I have to hurry before he comes into the room and holds me again as tight as the towel. I look around and try to find something but everything looks too fancy or not fancy enough and I'm just about to give up but then! I find a nice long pretty mint green dress that reminds me of the pink dress I ruined before and I instantly throw it on and rush to meet Godric in the hall but I a glimpse at my reflection stops me. With all my crazy running sprints I've done something really terrible to myself. I've made my hair all crazy and it's standing up and frizzy and I'm suddenly so embarresed that I can't even open the door at all! I rush to the mirror and try to push my hair down but it jumps back up again! My hair isn't curly anymore it's a weird bush!

Instantly I burst into tears but as soon as I see the red fall on my cheeks I grab my towel and wipe them up so they down't get stained and so Godric doesn't think he's the reason I started to cry but the more I try to stop them the more I see my hair and the more I panic and the more I cry! I keep the towel to my face as I remember the accesories that I had found my first time around the room. I run around all over the place trying to find them and just when I give up I find them! I see a broach the same color as my dress and I pull my hair out and pin it up and presto! It looks like I did it on purpose and it looks really cool actually!

I can't help but to grin wildly at myself because everything seems to be picking up! I toss the towel as I turn around and face the door. With all the running around I didn't hear where Godric was but a tell-tale sigh let's me know he's outside the door and my stomach does so many flips and flops because I know he's going to open the it and not seeing him, not even in my dreams, has made me miss him so much I can't stand it. I rush to the door and wait so when he opens it I'm right there but then...something bad happens...he starts to walk again and he passes my door. I feel tears jump to my eyes but I don't cry, I keep them back like a maturate adult. And like a mature adult I begin to reason. He hates me. He hates me and finds me so dispicable he can't even look at me and he's so angry with me he's giving me the silent treatment because I've upset him so much.

I don't understand why he's so mad at me and why he hates me so much and then all at once it hits me! He's not angry with me...he's guilty. He's guilty because he doesn't feel the same way I do. Because he'll never, ever love me like I love him.

It makes so much sense. I swallow down my saddness but it stays in my chest and doesn't go anywhere else. How could I be so stupid? How could I imagine someone as amazing as him could even care for me the littlest bit? How could I be so dumb? I rest my head against the door and sigh angrily to myself. I hear Godric move somewhere in the house and I groan because I know he's trying to avoid me and I just feel miserable. I'm trying to calm myself down before I open the door and go for my TruBlood but I'm so miserable I don't know if I can handle it. Thankfully a kick in my tummy let's me know I can and have to make it

I can't keep waiting forever. I open the door and walk out into the hallway, not bothering to go quickly because I know he's going to avoid me until I shake my love forever and all that means is that he's going to avoid me forever. I walk to the kitchen, looking for any sign of the dirt that was here last night but it's all missing, just like the affection Godric had just begun to show me. I see the coffeetable sitting where it had been, not even moved by any of my actions, and I fold my arms over my chest angrily. Why can't he love me? What's so wrong with me? Am I ugly? But he said I was far more beautiful than Isabel and she's like a vampire godess! Maybe he thinks she's ugly too...maybe he only likes bo-

No! The thought that I will never ever be of any interest to him breaks my heart into millions of little pieces and hurts me so much that I have to turn my face from the table and stomp to the kitchen. Cruel. That's the only word I can think of for Godric pretending to like me and pretending to care for me when in reality he never cared for me at all! Godric isn't great or wonderful or anything! He's horrible and mean and he's the worst thing in the...

TruBlood.

On the counter sits a tall glass of TruBlood with a little pink straw and a matching blue umbrella waiting for me. This can only be the work of one person: Godric. Immediantly I burst into tears because how could I think such horrible things about my maker! My maker that I love so much and so deeply that I feel like I'm in physical pain just being away from him! How could I be so stupid to think he would play a cruel joke on me and how could I be so selfish to not think about the pain he must be going through too. Oh Godric...why does he put up with me being so stupid and so dumb and so horrible? I'm not even worth it!

Joylessly I pick up the glass and hold it in my hand. I'm the worst huma- VAMpire in all of existance. I take a sip through the straw with a huff. I'm expecting terrible tasting mush but to my surprise the taste isn't that bad! I smile a little as I sip more and more, waiting for it to get bad but it doesn't! It actually tastes delicious! How did he find the right one! I step forward to find him and ask but then I remember the thing I've been thinking about since I woke up...I'm not allowed to see him...not until I've stopped being so childish. The great tasting TruBlood saves me from crying again but I still feel so disappointed. I don't know if I can keep this up.

Fortunately...or unfortunately...I have my books that will keep me occupied, at least for the time being. I walk to the library slowly, hoping weakly that maybe Godric will stumble out and force an interaction with me but it's no use. He's not going to come out. I step into the library and see, of course, that all the books I read are put back onto the shelves except for Brave New World, which is open to the place I left it. I sit down back in the chair and look over the words that kind of blur together in how boring they are...what's so special about this book? Why does everyone think it's such a classic? If it weren't for my "expanded vampire mind" I would have no idea how to get through it. Unfortunately my vampire mind does make it clear with no hope of making it fun.

Amazingly though! I'm able to get through it in 20 seconds. I huff with displeasure because why does that bad book have to have such a sad ending! I spent a total of 40 seconds reading it, why couldn't the writer give me something great to leave off with?! I throw the book away and turn around to the shelf. If I had to guess, I'd say that almost every book here is just like that one with its deppresing message. There has to be one book that has something even the least bit nice and interesting to get through, one that doesn't make me feel hopeless for life. My eyes gaze over the different titles and then I find one! A book of poetry! How nice!

I jump up quickly and grab the book and flop back into my seat, this has got to be something good. I open the first page and on the flyleaf see a message that reads: _To Godric, don't be afraid to find love, it is not afraid to find you. -Damien 1904_

1904? Damien? Love! I turn the page angrily, not sure why I'm angry but maybe it's because that implies that maybe they were together or something stupid! But no, I can't think about that, I'm just going to read the stupid book and find something good about it. I flip through the index pages and the introduction and find the first poem on the first real page on the book and find the name Sara Teasdale. My brows furrow a little because I was expecting William Shakespeare but not her, not someone I never heard of before. I let my eyes drift over the words and read the poem silently.

But Not to Me 

By: Sara Teasdale

The April night is still and sweet

With flowers on every tree;

Peace comes to them on quiet feet,

But not to me.

My peace is hidden in his breast

Where I shall never be;

Love comes to-night to all the rest,

But not to me.

I stop at this page and take my time to read over the poem again. There's something wrong with my vampire mind; for some reason I read the words and find myself moved but I can't comprehend them. I can't understand the meaning or the message beyond the beautiful way each line is written. I look over this one by Sara Teasdale, this one seems easiest to get but still...I don't know what it is. I remember in English class it was the same. I would read on my own and I would take notes and answer questions but I couldn't get anything-it wasn't until the actual poems were read out loud and my teacher figured them out that they made any sense. Maybe that was it! Maybe I needed to read them out loud so I can get them!

Quietly, under my breath in a low whisper, I begin to read, "The April night is still and sweet with flowers on every tree," in my head a picture forms of flowers blooming on trees like a wind has awaken them from their sleep, "Peace comes to them on quiet feet," and a little fairy lady with blonde hair runs, holding her dress up high as she tip-toes past everyone, "but not to me." and there I am resting at a tree stump, trying to sleep but not really being able to get any, "My peace is hidden in his breast where I shall never be," Godric, "Love comes to-night to all that rest, but not to me."

It makes sense.

I feel sad again. I feel so sad even though this was supposed to make me happy and to make me think about good things and not things that I can't have. Why would the first poem in a poem book be the saddest poem in the entire universe and why does it have to apply to me! I reach my hand up angrily to see if I'm crying but thankfully I'm not, I'm just silently upset right now. But there was to be better ones, ones that will make me feel better. So I turn the page and I read in my head and out loud and I turn the page again and repeat and again and repeat and again and repeat until I find one that has a a little dog ear on the page.

If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking

By: Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one lonely person

Into happiness again

I shall not live in vain.

I hold the page in my hand and read in the quietest whisper, etching each word inside of my heart, "If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one lonely person into happiness again I shall not live in vain."

If I can stop one heart from breaking...If I can stop all the sad people from being sad-like Godric and my grandpa and like anyone else-then maybe I wont be sad anymore. Is that what she thought when she wrote that poem long ago? Is that was she was thinking when her pen scratched the paper? Maybe we aren't so different. Me and Emily Dickinson. I wonder what happened to her. I wonder if this plan really worked.

I turn the next page. Maybe there's something else that will inspire me and make me happier too. Hmm...William Shakespeare.

"Amie."

My head wips upward and my skin turns to stone and my mind goes blank.

"It has nearly been an entire evenning and still you have not met me. Don't you think this is enough?"

"I haven't rid my mind of its incessant compulsion to disregard important matters for childlike notions," the words come out of my mouth before I'm aware of how to respond. I quickly lift my hands to my mouth to shut it because I don't want myself to get into anymore trouble!

"Amie," suddenly he's beside me, sitting on the bench that I sit on against the table. His closeness burns me and fills me with a heat and a joy that I'm not ready for. My face is on fire and I dn't want him here anymore, I want to be alone, I was just getting use to being without him. "That is enough."

"What's enough?" I ask quietly behind my fingers.

"What has become of our relationship. I apologize for the way I managed your question however you have to understand," suddenly he stops. His voice had been so smooth and quiet that my eyes shut tightly inanticipation for the next word but now...now there's only silence. But that's not it. Inside of my chest I feel a growing and spinning kind of pain that's so confusing and hurtful and scary and terrifying and it hurts so bad that I just want to cry and I look at Godric and see behind his stone features there it is, there's the pain. He's trying to explain something but I just can't take it, I can't take the hurt and the growing anxiety it just has to end.

I look down at his hands that are folded in his lap like he's choking something I can't see and I know that's where it starts. Here is where it starts. I place my hand gently over both of his and whisper, "I do, Godric. I'm sorry too."

It's like the shower and all at once the pain just scatters into crazy different places. I feel free...I feel really, really free and good and I can't help but to grin happily because maybe that's because of me. His eyes stay downward but I know he can feel it. I know he feels complete too like we're two different puzzle pieces put together. He has to feel it.

"Godric, can I ask you a question?" I ask and I feel the nervousness grow inside of him so before he can answer I grab my empty glass of TruBlood and shout, "What is this?! This is the most delicious thing ever! I love it so much! I do I do I do!"

He's laughing in the way that makes me blush all over the place and takes the straw from the glass as he answers, "The man that you drank from had a particular blood type that is a new flavor out on the market. As soon as I heard of this I had thirty bottles retrieved for your consumtion. But last night you did not notice the difference so I guessed you might enjoy an added touch so I also added sugar to the inside of your straw."

A sigh.

It belongs to Godric and it sounds so lovely and feels so lovely across my face and I'm hugging him! My arms are around his neck and my face is pressed against his shoulder and he isn't moving away. In fact his hand is reaching up to touch my wrist and his head is leaning in closer and I have to stop myself from kissing him because this isn't that kind of moment. This is a moment that's even more special. In this moment we're coming together again, we're reattaching and promising never again to let go.

But good moments don't last forever. I feel that ache in my chest that lets me know I've been hugging him for too long and I pull away. I look at the book in front of me and suddenly he lets out a soft laughter, "I have forgotten about the existance of this book. It was given to me by the king of Texas, Damien Francis Dubois, a very good friend of mine. He will find great pleasure in knowing that I have kept this around."

"Have you read it before?" I ask softly, suddenly curious about how much it and this Mr. King-Of-Texas mean to him.

He shakes his head sheepishly, "Hardly. Just a few poems at the end. But I see you have nearly gotten half way through. Have you found a favorite yet?"

I nod my head eagerly, "I have! But I'm having a little trouble. When I read it to myself...I can't really understand it and when I read it out loud I focus more of my attention on saying the words right than on the actual meaning."

"If you would like I can assist you," his words are soft and nervous like he's afraid I might say no but he's more afraid I'll say yes.

But the chance to hear Godric read poetry is so amazing that I can't ever give up the chance! I nod my head excitedly, "Yes! Please! Here! I know the perfect one! Read this one!"

I turn back through the pages and find the one by William Wordsworth because that one just REALLY went over my head. He smiles softly as he reads the title, "Surprised by Joy...I have read this one before."

He reads the poem like he was always meant to read poems. His lips dance around each hump of the letters like they were always meant to dance and jump for the joy of poetry. His attention is uninterupted and the way he reads is like a painter painting a masterpiece. His voice is like the call of the ocean shore from miles and miles away that I want to dive into and drown in but my parents keep calling me away. His voice, he is amazing.

"That's beautiful, Godric," I whisper when the final word has taken its bow.

His eyes look up to mine tentatively and I feel like my face is going to explode, "Would you like to hear another?"

I nod my head softly and with my head on his shoulder and my arms wrapped around his, he goes through each poem, slowly, inside the entire book.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sleep well, Amie," Godric says as the back of his fingers place little kisses against my cheek. I don't respond just yet because I'm still hearing the words of his poems in the back of my mind and in my fantasies he's reading them to me, and only me.

But I reply, "Good night, Godric" even though I keep my eyes closed and make no plan of moving. My intention is simple. I'm going to stay here as long as he keeps stroking my cheek or until he kisses me goodnight...which ever comes last...and it seems like a good plan until I open my eyes and he's gone.

I frown deeply because I want him to kiss me! Even if it's just on the cheek. It's not fair that he does it once and then when I really, really want him to he doesn't even try. ESPECIALLY after I told him that I'm in love with him...wait...maybe that's why he's not going to do it. BECAUSE I told him that I'm in love with him. Maybe he doesn't want me to keep fantasizing about him and thinking that he's going to fall in love with me too. Maybe this is his way of letting me down gently.

I don't want to think of that as the answer.

I turn around and open my door with a sigh and a shake of my head. Tonight I really do want to go to sleep, I'm tired of the roller coaster my emotions have me on. Up and down and up and down and upside down and then straight to the ground, it's way too hard to keep up with myself. I can't imagine how he does it. I lay down on the bed and scoot underneath all the covers when I notice something. The iron curtain isn't down yet.

I can just make out the top of Godric's window from my position but I don't know if he's standing there. He isn't that very tall and I blush a little at the thought because I'm even less tall than him. We're a match made in Heaven, he has to know that. But as I keep looking at the empty space between our rooms I feel a sense of longing and I'm confused because I don't know if it's him or me that's feeling it even though I have an idea that I'm feeling it the most. But thinking about that stuff only gets me really sad or really happy and I'm way too exhausted for any of that. So I close my eyes and go to sleep.

In my dream Godric is sitting next to me but it's not really Godric it's a big bear and I'm a medium bear and next to me is a tiny bear that's so small and cute and I love it so much! In my dream we run around with the little bear and play monkey in the middle like we're humans and the poor little bear can never get the ball because me and Godric are so much bigger than him and I'm so happy because Godric has never looked so happy and I've never felt so happy and the little bear has never felt so happy either and I don't know how I know that but I do. But the ball falls far away and when we run to go get it a giant snake grabs it from Little Bear's paws and then I run to Little Bear and try to save him but before I can the big giant snake bites him and drags him away and there's nothing I can do! And I scream and I cry and I try to run after them but I'm stuck in cement and I can't move and all I can hear is the Little Bear screaming for me to go and save him but I can't because I'm stuck and then he's dead and a giant chill runs through me and I wake right up.

The chill shakes my bones and even though I still feel so tired and forced to my bed I sit up because I feel a desperate kind of panic and without knowing it I know Godric needs me and I smell the scent of his room which is a soft lavander smell and a nice Earth smell and cool ocean smell all in one and before I'm aware of what doing I'm at his door, knocking as I ask, "Godric? Are you alright? Can I come in?"

For a second I feel embarresed by the way I'm begging for entrance but then I think of that chill and how it was so strong that it MOVED me out of bed and FORCED me here! He needs my help, I just know this wasn't for no reason. But weakly he calls, "The sun has not yet set, Amie! Go back to your room!"

"No!" I snap angrily as I bang my fist against the door, "You need my help! So let me help you! What's wrong?!"

"Amie, go!" he shouts sounding so angry that immediantly I stop my hand from hitting the door again. I'm tempted to run back to my room and hide. The iron curtains are all down, I feel so weak and exhausted, if he's okay there's really no reason for me to come...but that chill.

"No!" I stamp my foot as I bang my fist against the door but before my hand can even make contact with the wood Godric's hand is around my wrist, stopping my action completely. It's like all my determination has been drained from me and now rests in a huge puddle around our feet which is the only thing I can look at since I just realized how pathetic I must have sounded screaming outside of his door.

"Amie, what you felt was another trait of our bond as father and child. When under great stress my body will call for assistance," he explains but all I can focus on is his hand on my wrist and as I focus on his fingers melting into mine I realize that he's not wearing a shirt but I can't look at his chest!

"You need assistance?" I interupt with fear, my eyes jump up to his and they are so sad and so lost and so confused and so wishy washy and all over the place and I reach my hand up to touch his cheek but his fist stops me like it knows where I'm trying to go.

"I summoned you, yes, but it was for no reason. Return to your room, Amie, please," he sounds so desperate, so helplessly desperate and I don't understand what it is.

I look into his eyes and whisper softly, "Godric, what's wrong?"

"I underestimated my temptation, Amie, that is all. Please, go," he sounds angry now and desperate and horrified, letting go of my hand as he points away to where my room is down the hall.

"Temptation?" I don't understand what he means. What's bothering him so much? Why is he so on edge?

He sighs in a way that makes him sound so...so weak and I shake my head quickly so I don't have to watch how scared his eyse are but when I do I notice that his bare chest isn't really bare and instead along his chest and neck area is a tattoo like a necklace with metal spike and it amazes me because I've never seen it before and how can he have a tattoo and be a vampire and what does it mean! And as my mind continues to be blown I blink my eyes to look at him again and I see he was TWO MORE tattoos on his arms and one has like weird little writing that I've never seen before and the other is like waves and stuff and he looks so cool and the more I look at the tattoos the more I look at him and the more I see he has a LOT of muscles and my face gets so red because I realize that I'm so close to touching him all over the place and all I want to do is jump on top of him and kiss him and touch him all at once.

"Amie, you are begining to bleed," he sighs as the back of his hand scoots under my nose and his knuckles graze across my lips that are burning and he takes away a trickle of blood and I look at the blood that looks so scary but if it were really, really bad I know he would have made me leave already.

He looks so sad as he gazes at the blood and I realize this is my chance, my opprotunity to strike, "I'm not leaving, Godric."

"If I must I will make you," he says but his threat sounds hollow and I know he really doesn't want me to. In fact he wants me to stay and I want to stay too and the only thing that can really make me leave at this point is myself and part of me feels really bad because he really wants me to go but then I think about my dream and the little bear that got taken by the big scary snake.

"I had a bad dream," I say quietly with my eyes cast low on our feet because if I look at his chest any more I'm going to want to grab it and bring it close to mine. I yawn softly as I continue, "I was a bear and you were a bear and there was this really little bear that we loved so much and we were playing with him but then this big snake came and stole him and I started to scream and cry and I tried to save him but I was stuck in cement and he was screaming so hard for me to save him but I couldn't," I look up at him and see his eyes are fixed on me and he feels just as bad as I do and so I whisper honestly, "I really don't want to go back to sleep alone today."

Heavily he sighs but then he whispers weakly, "Fine b-" a loud and excited squeal jumps out of my mouth and I run past him and into his room and I jump onto his bed that looks like mine except less comfortable because there are a lot less blankets and his room is really, really bare and on the bottom against the floor there is the coolest little strip of muggy glass that looks bright because it's the pond! and I can see out in it and I can even kind of see the lightness of the sun but it hurts my eyes to look too close, "BUT you must go right to sleep at this instance."

I turn to look at him but he is already standing beside the large bed and the door is closed behind us and I start to think...I'm alone with Godric...in _his _room with his _temptations_. What does that really mean? But then I get a wave of his emotions and I know how crazy uncomfortable he feels and I know by thinking more of that stuff will only make him feel worse. So I get into the bed quickly and grab the thin blanket and wrap it around myself as I sleep as close to the edge of the bed as possible with my back to him but then...

I feel him slowly get into bed and I feel a compulsion to move closer to him like being so far apart is painful because already just being in his room and in his presence I know the bad dreams can't get to me and I can't even dream about spending a second longer without his arms around me. I turn my head to peak at him and I see even more tattoos on his back that I can just hardly make out and I want to reach out and touch them but then I think of the girls and how the men would call on us with a touch of our back that felt scary and disgusting and how it felt like we were just dolls forced to be played with and we had no choice, no choice at all...and I don't want Godric to feel like that. I want him to feel like he has a choice...I want him to choose me.

"Amie," his voice is soft, even softer than a whisper, impossible to hear if not a vampire. I turn my head to him and I can see he is laying on his back and I can tell he is hardly breathing yet. I don't say anything yet but he knows I heard him. He continues, "You may lay as comfortably as you would like, there is no need to sleep at the edge of the bed."

"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable," I respond in the same little quiet tiny voice he used just seconds before.

"There is no need to be concerned," he says and at that I fall onto my back and it's so weird. In my sudden position I feel the force of my tiredness wash over me and I realize how heavy I had felt before like the day was dragging me to the ground or something. I yawn again and I close my eyes but it only takes seconds for us to move from the edges to the center like magnets. I know it's not on purpose but our shoulders touch and so does the back of our hands and I'm getting pulled deeper and deeper into sleep but I want to stay up and I grab Godric's hand for support and he doesn't pull it away. Instead he holds onto it tightly and whispers, "Sleep well, Amie."

I whisper back in my sleepy voice, "I will now."

It's like only seconds before the twilight comes and I'm awake. My eyes instantly jump open and to my surprise Godric's arms are around me and I'm at his chest and he's holding me tight and we're curled up like a ball with my back to his chest and his breath against my ear reminds me of his little whisper _Don't move. You are not ready yet. _My face is hot like a fire and I curl up further into his chest and I feel like I'm home...for the first time I'm back home here where it's safe in the darkness and he is all around me, making me safe and warm and wonderful and there's nothing that can ever, ever go wrong.

In his arms I think he has to love me. There's no way in the world this can feel so wonderful, so real and complete if he doesn't. There's no way he would sit and read beautiful, beautiful poetry for me if his love wasn't as great as mine. Maybe he's just afraid to show it because he's had such a hard life and it's been so difficult for him to be happy...I don't know everything that's happened to him, I don't know all the good or the bad. I don't know what he's been through with this Eric guy but I do know from the message in the book that "love" isn't an easy concept for Godric to understand...maybe he doesn't really know how to love someone more than "Maker" and "Progeny." Maybe this is the only way he knows how...If so I have to give him his time to figure it out. I can't force him to love me the way I want him to if he's still trying to figure out how he wants to be loved in the first place. Maybe that's what all the trouble was today...maybe he's just as confused as I am. Time is really the best thing I can give him so in his deep sleep I whisper the poem he took so long to read and when he did it was emotionless like he hated it and it was plain so I can fill all my meaning into it. I whisper this poem as I memorize the way his hands fall relaxed against me as his arms cross in front of my heart as if to protect it from a stake.

I whisper, "I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart). I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling). I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet). I want no world (for beautiful, you are my world, my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you. Here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than the soul can hope or the mind can hide), and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart. I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)."

I hear him stir a little and a sudden fear grips me tightly. He's awake. My haven is short-lived. I frown deeply, did he hear me? is he going to pull away? He doesn't say a thing which means he didn't. He doesn't do a thing and he actually stays in the same position like he hasn't woken up at all. Maybe he thinks I'm still asleep and maybe he thinks I'm not awake. I close my eyes quickly to keep up the appearance and sure enough I feel him move just enough to look into my eyes and see if I'm awake. Good thing I'm an expert at pretending to sleep, especially now that I'm...well...dead. He lays back down to where he was before and to my happy surprise he pulls me in closer against him and holds me tight like he never wants to let go and it makes me so happy I could cry but I don't because if I did he'd know I was awake.

I feel a desperation inside of me like last night but it's a good kind like he's desperate to keep me, like he was afraid that I'd leave in the middle of the day or something and then just when it feels like it's too much I hear him sigh and he relaxes again like he's falling back to sleep. But I know he's not asleep. His nose nestles against my neck and touches the back of my ear and I try not to tremble but it's so hard because I can feel it, I can feel him loving me and it feels so good like he heard me and he's trying so hard to let me know he loves me too but he's too embarresed to say it out loud and all I can do is let him love me in secret but the secret doesn't seem to be so secret. I can feel the hours ticking and ticking away but my mind is a blank slate of pleasure that makes me so happy like happy had been a foreign concept until this moment. The night flies by to the point he has to know I'm awake, to the point in which we should be together because we both know we love each other a so much but still...still I know he's too nervous. It's half the night already and I know there's no chance he'll admit it and yet...I'm still so glad.

But good things can't last forever and he pulls away and as I slowly open my eyes I see he has left the room completely. I want to frown but I can't help but to smile wildly. I was right. I was really, really right. I stand up from the bed, pretending to still be tired because I know he's listening to me from where ever he is. I groggily walk out of his room, which feels weirdly empty with out him, and I walk to my dress room, slowly picking up speed as I "wake up" some more. I open the door and the light turns on and I can't help but to feel so excited because I can already tell there are plenty more dresses. I run all through them and find all the new styles and all the new kinds and I love it so much because I always wanted this kind of place that has clothes that keeps me so beautiful all the time! I love it so much! I find a nice yellow dress that isn't a bright yellow but a soft kind of color like all the color's I've worn before. The dress is nice and goes up to my knees and it looks like the kind of dress the pretty "hipster" girls in school used to wear with their big blue eyes and their dark, dark hair. I hold myself in it and I twirl around and the hem goes up too and I feel so pretty in it, not like a princess but like...a lady.

I hear a cupboard open and I go to rush to meet Godric but I stop and look in the mirror before I go. Thankfully my hair has turned back to its-nice-curly-self and I have to admit I look pretty nice if I do say so myself. It's now that I can rush to Godric because I want to see him so much before I love him and I don't want to spend another second without him. I meet him in the kitchen where he waits for me with the TruBlood and the straw and the umbrella in the glass and on his face is the serious mask that means he's sad and confused but it's okay, I'm expecing this. I snatch the glass from him and happily drink it with joy because it really does taste so delicious, "Mmmmm Mmmmm MMMM mmmmm Mmmmm MMMMM Mmmmmm mmm Mmmmm."

He coughs softly and awkwardly says, "Amie. I'm glad to see you have awaken. I realize that with our engagment tomorrow evening there are many points in our culture that I have yet to explain."

I continue drinking but what's he saying doesn't matter more than the fact that he loves me. I manage to ask, "Can we talk at the pond again?"

He nods his head and walks to lead me to it. I want to reach for his hand but I know it would only embarress him if I did and when he's embarressed he waits a long time to hold my hand again. On the bridge he begins, "Do you recall how I explained that I am Sheriff of Area 9 and how I rule over the vampires in my area? Good. That does not mean that I am the highest ranking official. Do you recall Damien and how I said he was king? Well he is not the highest ranking official either. The Vampire Community has a system of authority and in fact the highest ranking authority is The Authority. The Authority is the ultimate authority over all vampires, even myself, and disobeying of the laws set by the Authority is treasonous. Do you understand, Amie? Your allegiance is to the Authority. Do you understand?"

I nod my head with annoyance. I hate lessons like these. My allegiance isn't to this thing, my allegiance is to Godric but the way he's looking at me like this is the most important thing in the world makes me think it is and that I should be afraid so I not my head and say, "Okay. I understand...but if the Authority is the highest then where do you fall?"

"The order of power falls as this: The Authority, The Magisters, The Kings and Queens, The Sheriffs, and finally vampires living within a certain area. The American Vampire League falls somewhere between The Authority and the Magisters because it carries out the will of the Authority," he continues to explain and I remember on the tv something about the American Vampire League and a pretty blonde lady but my grandpa changed the channel before I could really see it.

All of this information seems a bit...not important but to keep him happy I ask questions that I really don't care to find the answers, "What's a Magister?"

"A Magister rules over an entire continent and mostly deals with upholding the laws of the Authority and settling disputes amongst our kind. Beneath the Magister are kings and queens which rule over states. A king or a queen may provide edicts to certain rules depending upon the territory and bellow them are the Sheriffs and bellow it is arranged by age. Because of my advanced age and friendship with Damien, the king, I have slightly more power than a regular Sheriff but that does not mean I am an exception to the laws of the Authority," he continues to explain these things and drilling them into my head and it's not really fun to hear him talk like this and it scares me a little to think he might be afraid of something.

"What are the laws?" I ask, afraid that maybe I could break one easily by just being myself and being new.

"The following activities are considered illegal: Killing of another Vampire, Selling Vampire Blood, Feeding from another Vampire's Human, Stealing Wealth, Real Estate, or Other Property (including humans) from other Vampire-"

"'Feeding from another Vampire's Human?' 'Stealing other property including humans?' What does that mean?" I ask feeling kind of offended and upset by what I think it does mean.

"Many vampires find humans to be of less importance and so they regard them carelessly. It is acceptable for vampires, however, to have possession over a human in which they drink from their blood and viceversa. The human is then considered "theirs" and if another vampire were to steal the human it is punishable by fang removal," he explains and it is just as disturbing as it sounded.

"That sounds...that sounds horrible! How are humans property?! I was a human like...like a week and a half ago! How am I suddenly so much better than humans because I'm a vampire now!" I protest angrily, "And fang removal? W-What happens, will they never grow back?"

"It will take three months for the fangs to grow back to their proper length. At which time a vampire will starve because they are unable to recieve the proper nutrition," for some reason I get the feeling he is amused by my reaction but I don't feel amused at all!

"That sounds horrible! It that's so bad and if vampires don't even care about humans then what's the punishment for killing a vampire?" I ask out of curiousity.

"A sentence to five years locked inside a coffin encased in silver. At that point a vampire will go mad," the way he says this sounds so scary and then I remember that he said he killed his maker! Did he have to go through that?!

"But Godric...didn't you kill a vampire?" my voice is soft like a feather because I don't know what his answer will be.

"At that time the Authority was not yet created but I had been in great trouble that I was able to evade. By the time I was put to trial for my crime by age was so large that it seemed to not matter to anyone, any longer."

I breath a sigh of release, at least he had gotten away without getting into serious trouble but still...these stupid rules prove to be really dumb. I don't really think they are important...it's not like I'm going to go out killing other vampires or drinking human blood or stealing anyway. I look over to Godric and see he is studying me like he's waiting for me to say something so I say, "I'm not going to break the rules, you don't have to worry about me."

There is a little smile inside his lips that doesn't come out just yet but he nods and says, "I trust that you wont."

"How do you know Damien?" I ask suddenly before I even know I want to know the answer. The question just slipped out of my mouth and before I can cover my mouth and apologize he answers.

"I met Damien far back when he was just a new vampire. Through out my life I enjoyed watching and even participating in many of the battles recorded in history. It was this interest that lead me to a dispute that is not recorded in text books. There, while I was feeding on the dying, I came across a vampire and his new child. The vampire had been a friend of my maker and had recalled that I had killed him eight hundred years back and so he attacked me upon first glance. He may have over powered me, since he had thousands of years of age over me, but my advanced knowledege of battle allowed me to overcome him and I killed him quickly. I was afraid his child would attack me as well but instead he thanked me profusely for killing his maker. This was Damien. Since Damien was still new I took it upon myself to teach him all that I knew so he may survive on his own. We spent two hundred years wandering as friends but at the time I was ruthless and grew increasingly so and he choose to seperate. His interest included mostly making love in large groups while mine included killing in large quantities, you can see where the difference affected our friendship. This was why he decided to seperate before he grew to dislike my company altogether but upon our parting I decided that it was time for me to become a maker-that was when I found Eric. We still kept contact although he spent his time more with politics and Eric and I spent our time more with enjoying the company of other vampires as ruthless as we. It wasn't until three hundred years ago that killing became much less satisfying, something he noticed. At that point he became very powerful and was in the process becoming king in the New World. He suggested I become king as well but politics have never been my interest so I settled for becoming a Sheriff beneath him," Godric explains these details and I do recall them and memorize them but as his mouth moves I think of my chest against his back and his arms around me and his nose pressing against the back of my ear and my neck and how perfect this explanation would sound in that same position.

"Is he your best friend?" I ask as the TruBlood comes to a very sad end. I try to drink of the last remaining bits but there are no remaining bits, I drank the whole thing all the way to the end.

"They say the only person a vampire can trust is the vampire he created...but other than you and Eric...I suppose I would agree he may be considered best friend," he answers and I can't help but to frown because that means that Eric is Godric's very, very best friend of all. I try not to be jealous but how can I not when the facts are in front of me. And yet...I know he loves me...I know he does.

"Godric...the party's tomorrow," I whisper softly, "What if I'm not ready by then?"

"You know I believe that you are ready as we speak," he says in his tired tone that makes me feel like a stupid little kid. "But if you would like...I will allow us to arrive at the nest two hours before it is said to begin and Isabel will assist you in all the areas you believe you still need work. Does this please you?"

I nod my head quickly and happily because I actually do miss Isabel and how nice she was and thinking about her helping me to be as great as she is makes me really excited now, "Yeah! That sounds great! But...what am I going to wear? Oh no...What am I going to wear?!"

The glass in my hand suddenly shatters and fills my palms with a stinging pain and I look down in shock and Godric takes my hand quickly, "Amie! Relax at once. Look what you have done to your hand."

He begins to pull out the shards, filling my hand with stinging that makes my eyes water and then I start to cry because I look so bad, "I'm so sorry Godric I'm just so worried I'm going to disappoint you or something and I don- Wow...that was fast!"

I flex my hand a little and it's like nothing ever happened to it. I smile softly and look up at him but he is still looks a little concerned, "Amie, if this worries you too much I will cancel the whole event."

I shake my head, "No! I want to meet your friends and the people that want to meet me!" but he sighs like he's not convinced so I add, "Maybe...you can help me find something to wear? If you tell me what looks nice then I'll feel more comfortable, honest."

His eyes look up to mine and I can see a little blush inside of his cheeks that looks so cute and I just want to kiss them all over the place because he looks so adorable but before I can he nods his head, "Fine. But you know I will continually agree you will look lovely in what ever you put on."

My face gets all red because I think I know he means it and this is just another way of him secretly telling me he loves me without having to say it out loud. I don't say anything about it, since I promised I'd let it be a secret, but I turn around and say, "I'll race you to the dressing roo-"

Before I can finish he's gone and I know he's already there and I can't help but to let out a really loud laugh because he didn't even give me a chance to finish! I run to the room and there he is, waiting inside with a handful of dresses hanging on his arm and a smile, "I beat you."

I roll my eyes playfully as I grab the dress, "Only because you cheated."

"I did no such thing," he replies with that teasing smile that makes me blush all over the place and I try not to look at I walk behind the racks.

I sigh inwardly as I change into the dress he picked out, "You never do."


	11. Chapter 11

In the car Stan drives with his cowboy hat taking up the view of everything. He looks so scary and mean and angry that Godric decided to sit in the backseat with me so that my pretty dress can sit in the front without getting ruined. I wonder what it is about him that makes him one of Godric's underlings. He doesn't look very nice and he doesn't look like he has a sense of humor and he looks like the kind of vampire that hates humans and that makes me angry and sick to think he'll just hurt someone because they're not like him. The thought upsets me a whole lot but before I can really think about how upset it makes me Godric's pinky finger wraps around mine and my face bursts into a blush and I smile brightly out the window, still not trying to make the things he does a big deal even though they are.

We suddenly come to a stop in front of a house that looks no different from any of the other houses on the block except for the fact that all the lights are on and there are lots of cars in the front. I wonder if these cars belong to Godric or Stan or Isabel or if people have already arrived but then Godric comments as he helps me out the car in a disinterested manner, "You convinced Jerimiah to give you his car collection?"

In a deep and raspy and scary voice Stan answers, "I won it in a poker game. He's comin' tonight. I want him to know what he lost."

I look up at Stan as he grabs my dress to see if he's joking but as soon as I meet his ice blue eyes I drop my head away because I feel like he can kill me with those things. Godric must sense my fear because he gives Stan a look that makes Stan lower his head and I can't help but to grin because Stan is so much more massive than we are and to see him act like I do makes me feel...happy to have Godric on my side. Godric's hand takes mine and I feel a boost of confidence flow through me because I know with him at my side Stan can't hurt me, even if he wants to...which he probably does.

We enter the house and immediantly Isabel comes to the door, "Godric! Thank God you are here! I can not STAND him anymore! He put c_ameras _ALL over the nest!"

"I TOLD you it's to watch those fucking bloodbags that come in during the day! Godric, I swear one of 'em is addicted to V!" He shou-

Delicious, welcoming, warm, pumping, gracious, flowin-

His hand tights around mine like a bear trap and I think of Cassy's leg and the blood gushing outward as she tries to escape from the pain and I'm awake and I realize there is a human hidden behind Isabel who looks like she is not my friend and she is willing to attack me at any second. I look down at myself and see I was just about ready to attack until Godric's hand brought me back to reality. I look at the human and see he is as tall as Isabel, maybe a little taller and he has slightly frightened blue eyes and his hands touch her body like they know ever inch of it and I realize this is Hugo...this is her boyfriend.

Fear seizes me because I know if I breathe I'm going to attack him because I was just going to attack him because of how delicious and tantalizing his blood was and I haven't had real human blood in what feels like the longest time and just the sound of his heart beating faster...and faster...beat beat beat...fills me with a longing that only blood can complete. What is he doing here, I can't deal with it...with his warmth hitting me from so far away. I want his blood, I need his blood, I need it so bad.

"Godric," Isabel's voice forces my eyes to her and I see they are angry and protective and deep, deep down scared and hurt and terrified and in love, really in love and I know I can't do it. I can't attack Hugo...not with how much she loves him, not with that right in front of me. There's no way I can do that to her, hurt her so bad, make her lose the man she really loves. I think...what if I lost Godric? How could I survive? How could I manage? How could she?

And then I think...how would Godric ever love me if I took away the one person his friend loved dearest. How can he love me if every human I see I want to kill? I have to get over this. I have to come to terms with my temptation. I take a tiny little breath and the smell hits me like a tidal wave and makes me shiver deep down but I contain it and I control it and it doesn't run as deep through me. I take another smell and I look deep into Hugo's eyes and the smell only makes me shiver and my mouth water and my muscles a little tense. I look into his bright blue eyes and see how they look at me with curiosity and wonder and only the slightest bit of fear as I take another smell because he knows Isabel will protect him no matter what. I take another sniff as we both relax and we both realize for sure that I won't attack him and we have a sudden understanding that we...the two weakest of the group...aren't in danger anymore and we both start to smile.

I lift my hand up slowly for a shake as I start taking large breaths of his delicious smell that still makes me shiver and tense up and my mouth water but doesn't make me attack. I smile, "Hi...My name is Amiena."

He reaches his hand out to mine "I'm Hu-" but Isabel tenses up and her hand is between us as if to stop him but he gives her this look like she's being ridiculous and he goes around her and shakes my hand with a smile, "I'm Hugo."

At the touch of his hand a giant smile blooms onto my face because he's so hot! His skin is like on actual fire and it's like it kind of hurts and feels good and weird at the same time and I hold onto his hand with both of mine as I shake it slowly and feel how crazy hot it is and I shout out, "You're so warm!"

And in the same excited tone he laughs, "And you're so cold."

I look up at his face and I take a deep breath and my mouth doesn't water anymore and my muscles aren't tense and I don't feel like I'm in so much pain and I know I made a friend and I realize that I'm not going to attack any humans anymore because if they're anything like Hugo then hurting them would only hurt myself. I laugh even more excitedly as I let go of his hand and through my arms in the air, "I don't want to eat you!"

He laughs nervously as he shrugs weakly, "Great!"

I reach forward to punch his arm lightly but suddenly he goes flying and I scream but then he's in Isabel's arms and she puts him on the ground as she angrily snaps over Stan's laughter, "Amie, be careful! Humans are very fragile creatures! The wrong move could kill him! If you wish to interact with one you must treat him with the care you would give a butterfly. They are that fragile. "

"I'm so sorry!" I start to cry because I'm a monster and I almost killed my first human friend!

"It's fine!" Hugo snaps as back as he fixes his suit and steps away from Isabel. He looks to her and suddenly changes his expression from angry to calm and gentle. He repeats again, "It's fine. I'm okay."

"I'm really sorry, Hugo and Isabel, I really am," I say again because I can see they're both thinking what if she didn't catch him and what if I really hurt him really bad, "I wont do it again, I swear."

He walks to me and places a fire hand on my shoulder and smiles, "I'm alright. Good luck, Amiena."

I smile weakly and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, "You too."

"I will escort him out," Isabel says as she walks after him and the way she looks is so angry and I know she's angry with me and she's not going to help me with anything.

I look down and start to cry again, "She hates me, doesn't she?"

"She'll get over it," Stan says in a huff like I'm not so amusing any more and I should really stop crying but I can't help it.

Godric's hand reaches up and wipes my tears away, "You behaved perfectly for your second encounter with a human. I am very proud of you."

I start to smile wildly but when I look up at him he doesn't look so sincere and he has that mask on that makes his emotions unreadable like maybe he's angry at me too or maybe...maybe he's jealous! I open my mouth to tell him he has NOTHING to worry about and that he should already know I'm completely in love with him but then Isabel comes in and Stan shoves the dress into her hands and Godric pulls away and Godric addresses her, "Stan and I will go over the matters of security while you assist Amie. I will hear your side of the discussion before the night is through."

And that's it. He just leaves me to listen to stupid Stan with his big cowboy hat while I'm stuck with Isabel who hates me! Maybe he really, really is mad at me and he really, really is jealous and he's never going to forgive me for being so nice to Hugo. Isabel's voice brings me from my thoughts, "Come. You can dress in my room. I'm certain I've destroyed all the cameras in there."

I nod my head weakly and follow her around to the "nest" to her room. She opens the door and I walk in after her and shut the door behind me. I notice her room doesn't really look like a room. There's a nice bed and nice blankets and stuff but it doesn't really look like anyone sleeps there it just looks like...I blush at the thought. I hear the crinkling of plastic and I know Isabel has taken the dress out of the wrap. I take off my dress shyly, standing on my side so she can't see everything but when I glance at her and reach for the dress her eyes look concerned and confused.

"Amie...where are you undergarments...where are your shoes?" she asks like I'm a crazy person.

"I...I don't know...I haven't had...undergarments for so long and I didn't find any in the big dress room and I never used to wear shoes before and I guess I forgot...is this bad? Is this really, really bad?" I'm trying so hard not to cry but I can't help it because the way she looks at me makes me feel like I have twenty heads.

"The undergarments were in your room, in the dresser drawers. I knew I should have stayed to guide you around, Godric forgets these simple things," she sighs like she's really worried about me and then she smiles weakly as she hands me my dress, "Here. We'll fix this."

I feel so stupid like I'm the dumbest person in the world, why didn't I check there? I slip into the dress-which is long and red with the front area having no real cut so that it falls across my neck and covers everything and it goes over my shoulders and meets a black lace patern that takes up the whole back-but I don't feel as pretty as I did last night. Isabel comes from behind me and I realize that she left to her closet before I even realized. In her hands are small black flats with a red kind of lace that matches my dress completely. I try not to grin but a huge smile fills my face because she did, she fixed everything.

She hands me the shoes and I slip into them as she says, "You look stunning, Amie. Very much so. Here, take a seat and I will help style your hair."

She sits me down in front of a mirror and begins to pick up and toss about my curls with a little secret smile on her face. I look up at her in the mirror and say quietly, "Thank you, so much."

"It's no problem. I'm happy to help," she says and she really does look happy to help. She lifts up some curls on the right side of my head and pins it backward with a gold comb pin thing and instantly I'm in love with it. She's so good at this! She smiles, "You look wonderful."

"What if no one else thinks so?" I ask a little tentatively, not sure if she really wants to hear this or not.

She places her hands on my shoulders as she leans down to my side to look at me. She pats my cheek gently as she says, "I doubt anyone will claim you to be less than what you are. Godric made the right choice in turning you. Everyone will see that."

My eyes start to tear a little as I look at her with her kindness and the face that she makes that reminds me of my mom so much, "You think so?"

She nods her head softly, "I know so. Now come on. Let's show Godric. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you."

I blush a little, hoping he'll think I look pretty with the dress and the shoes, "Okay."

I stand up and am surprised the shoes feel so comfortable and as I follow Isabel out I'm even more surprised she owns a pair of flats because the heels she wears are SO HUGE! And then I realize I made my first human friend and my first vampire friend in the same night. Isabel leads me down a flight of stairs and I'm amazed that this place used to be Godric's nest. Yeah it's really nice and really cool but it's so much more different than our home. It looks all kind of bare and grown up while our house is just like a fairy tale. I wonder what changed Godric's stylistic choice.

In the basement Isabel bangs on a wall three times and a key pad appears from no where! She presses the numbers 3-7-4-4-2 and the wall slides into another one to reveal a big white room where Godric and Stan stand and look inside a fridge filled with TruBlood and human blood bags. They turn around and I blush brightly at the double take they both give me. I look down and thankfully Isabel takes the attention, "Do you see this monster? Amie, come in. Don't touch anything. This place is disgusting."

I step inside and turn around to the basement and I watch as Isabel punches a blue button and three sheets of solid metal close the open space so fast I jump back and hit Godric's chest. I'm about to jump forward again but his hand reaches up and touches my shoulder and I'm puddy in the giant comfort he fills me with. Isabel turns around to face us as Stan says to Godric, "No one, not even you Godric, can break through those doors. In case shit really hits the fan."

"What kind of shit, Stan?! Please inform us of why you have decided to take so many security precautions!" Isabel sounds so angry that I step further back into Godric and I'm happy he lets me.

"Well we ain't got Godric here to help us! If those fangbangers try to attack us in our nest we can strike back!" he grins as he pounds one fist into his other open palm. They continue to argue and it's now that I wonder why Godric would leave them, they're so entertaining! Like those Jerry Springer shows grandpa used to make me watch! But then I think of Godric and how nice and calm and wonderful he is and I can kind of get the picture. I take this time to look around the panic room while Godric tries to calm them down and I see the room looks kind of weird...like a storage room. The walls are beige and there are random boxes thrown together onthe floor and it has a kind of reddish brown carpet that actually looks pretty soft and comfortable but dirty at the same time. I'm kind of impressed by how big it is but those random boxes take up pretty much all the space there is and I dou- CAMERAS! In the corners of the little room there are tiny tiny cameras that are so small I didn't even see them on the first glance! Wow! Stan really does have cameras everywhere!

"Out of the three hundred cameras in the nest only fifty will be allowed to remain. At the end of the evening you both will have to diplomatically decide where they will be placed. The panic room stays. That is all," Godric's voice is final and calm and forceful and it hits me now why he is Sheriff and it hits me that he really does have the chance to be a king anywhere he wants to be.

Isabel and Stan bicker over who won and who didn't but I don't mind because Godric keeps his hand on me and allows our closeness and I think he's forgiven me or realized that it's stupid for him to be jealous. Isabel presses a red button and the door opens and we step out of the panic room all at once and I smile because it's so weird that we're all so graceful and we all move like at the same time in the same steps and it's actually so cool but what's not cool is that when we finally get upstairs I hear the sound of car doors slamming and I know the party is just about to begin and my stomach suddenly tumbles into crazy stupid knots.

Isabel and Stan rush forward to greet the people but me and Godric stay behind in the back and being alone with him makes me so much more nervous than being with those people. I look to him and see he is blushing and I start to blush a little too and suddenly we're both laughing quietly at ourselves and how dumb we are. He reaches his hand up and touches my cheek, "You look lovely, Amie."

My face is all red where he touches and I smile, "You look lovely too."

He chuckles softly and I grin to myself because I made him do it. He pulls a box from his pocket and my eyes instantly jump to it as he says, "I purchased a present for you, to mark this occasion."

"Really?" I ask, trying to be quiet because I'm just so excited and I can't believe HE REALLY GOT ME SOMETHING!

He opens the box and inside is the prettiest gold necklace with the oddest symbal etched in some red kind of ruby at the center of a small gold little plate the size of my pinky nail. My fingers reach out to touch it gently and my eyes move up and down over the design that looks so beautiful I can swear I've seen it before. He pulls the necklace from the box and unclasps it, making me quickly turn around so he can put it on. He places it around my neck as he explains, "It is a symbol for protection and strength given to only the very best warriors of a tribe. You are strong, Amie, even though you often find times that you forget. This is a token of mine that will assure that you never forget."

I feel a tightness in my chest like my heart is beating really fast but I know it's not because it doesn't beat. I expect him to pull away but he doesn't and so I close my eyes to take in the fullness of the moment and just how close he really is. Almost with his chest to my back, almost with his arms around me. He thinks that I'm strong and he bought me a present. I touch the necklace around my neck, I'll keep this forever, I'll keep him forever. The sound of voices reminds me that people are here but still...I just want one more thing. I lean backward slightly, expecting him to pull away but he doesn't. He wraps his arms around me like he did the other night and he holds me tight like he never wants to let me go. He loves me, he really has to love me.

There is a cough that belongs to none other than Stan and Godric's arms vanish as if they were never there in the first place. I frown softly as I look up at Stan and with his big cowboy hat on he waves backward to the loud crowd behind him, "The guest have all arrived. It is time to begin."

At that Godric steps away from me and turns into someone I hardly recognize. He is the Sheriff now, strong and massive in his age and his wisdom, my boy is gone. I follow him and Stan and Isabel to the mouth of the hallway and because I am so short I can't see the crowd but I can hear them as they all instantly stop talking to face us. Godric's voice takes up every inch of atmosphere as he speaks, "Before we begin I would like to sincerely thank you for coming this very night in wake of the many tragedies that have struck our community. Your gifts and well wishes have not gone unnoticed and they will be returned without the slightest hesitation. With that being said, it brings me great satisfaction that we are still able to enjoy the presence of our commrades, regardless of the devistation we may face outside these walls. We must all remember one thing: if they will never give up, neither will we."

The crowd errupts into loud shouts and cheers and applause and suddenly I'm afraid. What are these tragedies that have struck? What is the devistation? Who are they? Are they really that dangerous?

"And now I would like to introduce my new progeny," Godric and Isabel split and I'm out in the open with Godric's arm extended toward me. I step forward and face the crowd of vampires of all different kind of shapes and sizes and colors with their eyes all glued to me and I feel like I'm going to blow up or throw up or both but before I can do either his hand rests on my lower back and I'm deflatted again. "Amiena Smith."

For a second there is silence that confuses me and then all at once they shout in all different kinds of languages, "Welcome, Amiena!"

And I grin happily because they're all smiling and they all look really happy to have me and I feel really happy they do. Stan makes a sudden movement and the conversation starts to flow at once and this is when Godric guides me to a smaller part of the livingroom only seperated by a small brick wall with a fireplace. There are two seats that are white and cool and comfortable and Godric guides me to one while he sits in the other beside it. I realize now that at one of the opening is a long line where Stan waits and Isabel stands at the other opening I imagine to be the exit. Are they all waiting to see us?

Godric nods his head and the first vampire comes up and to my despaire is a beautiful graceful woman with huge vampire boobs that are so big and make mine look none existant. She stands in front of us and says how she is thankful for the assistance Godric authorized and I wonder what is this assistance and I wonder how she can look only a little older than me but so much more developed and I wonder why she is so pretty and why I don't look anything like her at all and all I can see are her large and great boobs and I feel so angry I want to rip them off and just when I feel like a will...

I feel the soft brush of his fingertips over the back of my hand making my face into the brightest blush ever because he's touching my hand-my hand!-in front of everyone as he says, "Your thanks is not in order. It is never a trouble to help an old friend. Will Damien be joining us this evening?"

She nods her blonde head with a little secret smile, "He's bringing along a new friend. I think he has a crush on him."

Godric smiles briefly, not my smile but a king smile, as he replies, "He never fails."

She laughs a soft little laugh and glances over at me and winks, "Neither do you. Has Eric met his beautiful sister yet? I'm curious to know his reaction."

I look over to Godric suddenly feeling very, very nervous. I hadn't thought about meeting Eric and I hadn't considered him as a brother yet and I hadn't even thought of his reaction. Is he just as jealous as I am? Did she really think I was beautiful? Godric shakes his head as his hand forms a fist around my own, "He has not. Unfortunately his territory is facing trouble of its own and he is unable to detach himself from his duties at the moment. I will let him know he were in your thoughts."

She smiles as she bows her head to him and me, "Be sure to."

And then she leaves and the next vampire takes her place and I realize...I can do this. We can really do this.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you, Sheriff.

Congradulations, Sheriff.

Best of Luck, Sheriff.

Sheriff, Sheriff, Sheriff.

Poor Godric, how could he deal with it? When things were repetative my mom used to say it was like a "broken record" but this was even worse! Each vampire came new and completely different but with the same thing to say. Godric had helped them in some way and they were thankful and excited to see his family growing...that's it. They say it in the same tone too...kind of like they're afraid to stay around for too long because Godric scares them. Well...he does look kind of scary. His face is emotionless like a portrait and he has the same expressionless nod of his head to each vampire that passes. If it weren't for the little things-the stroke of my hand with his thumb, the side ways glance, the turn around inside of my chest-I'd think my Godric was gone. But he's not. He's still here.

A vampire leaves again and I follow his walk to the exit where everyone has accumulated and out there it looks..so fun. Like everyone is having a blast talking to each other because the "work" part is over. I wonder what it is about Godric that makes him...the "work" part. I'm just about to yawn when suddenly a burst of excitement fills my chest from Godric and I look at him in time to see a big smile-not my smile, still a king smile-take over his face and I look to see a vampire so tall and graceful and handsome like...like the guy from X-Men: First Class that played Professor X when he was younger! That's it! He looks just like him except younger and instead of regular blue eyes his eyes are like saphire diamonds and his skin isn't pale but an odd kind of pale and tan in one. He's wearing a suit too that's a nice kind of shade of blue that makes his eyes pop out and his right hand has so many rings on it it's crazy! I know instantly who this guy is...

"Damien, I had given up hope you would come," Godric says in a voice that is playful like the teasing voice he uses for me and I want to be jealous but the way he holds my hand now, like he can't wait to introduce us, makes me excited like Damien can be my friend too.

"Not in a thousand years, old friend," he answers with a smile that matches Godric and makes me feel like there's a big secret between them and the way he licks his lips and looks to me makes me believe the secret's about me, "Is this the famous Amie?"

I don't know how and I don't know why but suddenly my face is bright red under his and Godric's gaze like they're going to jump on top of me and kiss me and I think that would be really awesome but I can't think about that now because if I do I'm going to make Godric jealous and he's going to hate me so instead I peak up tentatively at him and answer quietly, "I hope so."

A nice and smooth chuckle leaves his mouth that sounds so cool and seductive and I realize this must be the exact reason why he's king of Texas. He must make everyone feel like this! He looks over at Godric with a smile that goes beyond time and place and with the most honest expression he says in French, _"She is beautiful."_

I don't have to worry about blushing anymore because I can even see Godric blushing and I know it's just something that happens in front of him but that doesn't stop me from replying in the same language, _"Thank you."_

_"You speak French?"_ he asks in amazement and I can't help but to grin wildly as I nod my head with joy.

_"Yes. My mother taught it to me when I was little, she was born in France!" _I don't know why I'm giving him so much information but the way he looks at me makes me feel like I can tell him every detail under the sun and he won't be bored at all.

_"Wonderful! I am from France myself. What is your mother's name? It's possible that I know your family," _he says with increasing excitment.

_"Natalie Dupont and my grand-mother's name is Daisy Du-"_

_"Daisy and Jerome Dupont!" _He shouts and I can't help but to laugh with wonder because that's them! He knows them! _"I am filled with so much happiness. I dare say I introduced them at an event I held long, long ago. On vacation from my duties I visited France and held a thirty day orgy, oh don't be embarresed. It was welcome to all those who wished to feel loved and if it is not out of place I wish to tell you that you come from a long line of amazingly passionate lovers, Amie, and you should be proud of what is inside you."_

At the sound of "orgy" I dug my face into my free hand and tried to hide my crazy red face from Godric and his laughter but it's impossible when he's holding onto my hand and forcing me to stay engaged in the conversation. Godric thankfully moves the conversation back to somewhere else, "I knew you both would get along instantly. You know, she found the poetry book you put together for me a century ago."

"You still have that?! I was certain you would throw it away as soon as I gave it to you," he grins and I grin and Godric grins and I know everyone else does too! It's crazy to see how just a simple mention of a book can make him feel so happy. He turns his gaze to me and asks, "Have you found a favorite poem?"

I nod my head quickly, thinking of the poem I recited to Godric in his sleep, "I did! But it was hard! There are so many to choose from!"

He nods his head with a slight sense of exasperation, "I know, that's why I always pick the cheap way out and say they are all my favorite. What about you, Godric? Do you have a favorite."

He nods once as he says, "I do."

"You do?" I ask before I can stop myself because I didn't know he had a favorite! He didn't even tell me!

"Yes," he simply answers before looking to Damien and smiling in his teasing way, "Jolie informed me you were bringing a new friend."

"Oh yes! Where are my manners!" he shouts, suddenly looking all flustered and I laugh softly because he must really like this guy if the one that makes everyone flustered is flustered himself! He turns around and motions for someone to come, "This is James."

No. Way.

The vampire that made me hold his hand until the sun came up is standing right in front of me with the same shocked expression that I have on myself! I can't belive it! It was so long ago and I hardly remeber his face but I KNOW it's him! I can tell by his sad and bright and big brown eyes that it's him alright but I'm surprised by how much younger he looks than I remembered and by how handsome he actually is and I'm even more surprised by how surprised he is to see me! It's unbelievable, it's really, really crazy!

"Do you...know each other?" Damien asks with a curiosity that looks like he's becoming increasingly amused by me.

I nod my head as I look at Godric who is just as curious but no where near as amused. I close my mouth and try to hide my happiness as James answers, "Yes. Remember how I told you about a possible business prospect?"

"That horrible 'gentlemen's club?'" he asks with a look in his eyes that makes me believe he knows what it is no matter how much James tries to sugar coat it.

James nods his head, never taking his eyes off of me, "Yeah, well, I met Amiena there on my visit. It's safe to say I never in a million years thought I would see you here! Like this! A vampire! Wow!"

I nod my head quickly, "I know! Isn't it great!"

Before he answers a loud and raspy and deep voice booms through our conversation that can only belong to one person, Stan, "Jimmy you six-hundred year old pussy! What the fuck do you think you're doing here!"

For a second I'm afraid but then Stan hits his shoulder roughly with a laugh and James replies with a grin, "Stan, I hoped you were dead."

"Not yet!" they laugh and I look to Godric for an explanation on their weird behavior but he's not looking at me and his face is cold and doesn't look away from Damien who doesn't look away from him and it's like they're having a secret conversation. Stan coughs a little and turns into his formal-self, "Sheriff, I apologize for interrupting but Eric is on the line and he wishes to speak with you."

He doesn't say a word to me as he gets up and leaves and I'm so confused because...is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Stan and James' laughter force me to watch them leave the room and I think it must be because of James. He's the reason Godric left me alone without him at my side. I reach up to touch the necklace around my neck, I want that Godric back.

"Godric told me of how he found you on your first night," Damien says and I realize now that he has taken Godric's seat so he can talk to me. "I have been waiting for the chance to tell you how honored I am by your presence. It is rare to find an individual such as yourself who can experience such tragedy and still be able to radiate joy and love. You are exactly who I was hoping Godric would find. Please, be good to him."

"Be good to him?" my voice cracks deep inside my throat and I curse myself because I know I'm going to cry, "He hates me."

"He hates himself," Damien counters as he lifts up a handkerchief and hands it to me.

"But...why?" I ask as I wipe away the tears before they can stain my cheeks and embarress me anymore than I already am.

Damien sighs heavily before answering, "Godric is a strange creature that not even I-a friend for over a thousand years-can understand. He has SO MUCH potential to love and yet he just can't give himself the chance to do it...My guess is that because he has lived his life as a fighter and as a warrior, hurting and killing and destroying, the weakness of love is as foreign a concept to him as not loving is to us. He doesn't think he deserves it and maybe he doesn-"

"He does!" I hiss angrily, holding onto my necklace tight as proof. How can anyone say that someone as wonderful as Godric doesn't deserve the love I want to give him. How can anyone say that!

"Yes," Damien smiles, "he does, and you are the only one that can give it to him."

I look up at him, suddenly confused. Is he telling me to go to Godric now and tell him that I love him and that I'm going to wait until he allows himself to love me too? Is that it?

Damien nods his head toward the direction of the exit like he heard my thoughts word for word. He simply says, "Go."

And that's all I need to hear. I get up quickly and follow the sound of Godric's voice, which somehow I can hear over the crowd, and am lead to a room by Isabel's and I realize it must have been Godric's before. I don't peak inside and I don't breathe or move a muscle or do anything but listen to Godric's distressed voice talking to someone who sounds so tough and so strong and so grand and so wonderful and I hate him already.

I hear the man say, "...You are her Maker, Godric. She is _yours. _Go out there and take her."

"I can't," Godric says in a weak and angry little hiss that makes me so sad because if he's talking about me then why doesn't he? What's stopping him?

"I have witnessed you steal the daughters of political leaders for your own pleasure. I have witnessed you walk into the chamber of nearly every Queen of England to seduce them without a single spoken word. What makes this one so different?" Eric asks in a tone that dismisses me, like I'm just some girl...just another girl to be conquered.

There's only silence on Godric's end and I wait for him to say something-anything at all!-but I realize there's nothing for him to say. I'm not different. I'm not different at all. I hear Eric say his name, coaxing him for an answer, and then it comes. Slow, measured, thought out but in a different language, useless to me...because I am useless to him. Damien was wrong. He was very, very wrong about us.

"Amie."

I look up and see Isabel in the hallway motioning for me to come to her. The conversation in the room has stopped and before I have to face Godric I rush to her and am at her side, "What's wrong?"

She smiles softly and places her arms around my shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze as she turns me around to face the crowd, "Nothing at all. Everyone loves you and agrees that Godric has made a wonderful choice in turning you...but...I have one request for you."

I look up at her, smiling softly because she's making me feel a thousand times better like she knows what just happened, "Sure, anything at all. What is it?"

"Interact with them. Please? It will serve you to make friends and allies. These are some of the most powerful vampires you may come across. It's never too early to make your place among them," she says with the kind of smile my mom used to give me when she made me do something I didn't want to do. How can I say no to her?

I nod my head weakly and sigh, "Okay."

She releases my shoulders and pushes me forward but...I chicken out! They're all vampires that are old, really old, and powerful! What do I possibly have to talk to them about? I turn around to tell Isabel I can't do it but she's gone...of course she is. It's now that I have to decide...do I want to face Godric...or the crowd?...I choose the crowd.

I step forward into it feeling helpless and weak. I'm so much shorter than nearly everyone here. Suddenly I feel someone grab my arm and pull me and before I can panic I see it's the first vampire that talked to Godric. One with the really big boobs. Jolie.

"Amiena! I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you!" she talks like someone so familiar, like someone I know, "My name is Jolie, I am Damien's child."

That's it! I perk up quickly as I look into her face and notice all the little mannerisms that are just like his and it makes sense why her chest so big and so revealed! It's really amazing how alike they are, "Hi! Wow! You're so pretty. It's great to meet you!"

She smiles and laughs like he does in this way that makes them look bashful but really makes me feel very shy and nervous, "Oh stop it! Look at you and your hair and that skin and those eyes and that dress! There's something about Godric and his children that are just so...stylish!"

She says the last part to the group of beautiful guys and girls that are around us and they nod in happy aggreement as they begin to touch my dress and some curls and different parts of me, adding compliments, and I blush brightly because I've never had this much attention except for that day I stood naked in front of the windows but this is different...this is in a good way...I think.

"Alright, that's enough! We don't want her to die of embarresment, now do we?" she grins and the group giggles like she said the silliest thing in the world and I'm kind of confused by why they react like love-sick puppies to everything she says. She places her hand on my shoulder and leans in slightly as she asks, "Now, Amiena, you have to tell me. I've always been curious...how extraordinary of a lover is Godric? Please, spare no details."

I shove my hands over my face to keep my head from exploding, "What?!"

"Oh don't be coy!" she teases as she pokes my side, "I see the way he looks at you and Damien told me the whole story. Now tell me this, the night you emerged did he tell you that you were a vampire before he went right into making love or did he just grab you as you stepped from the grave?" I shake my head to answer her and try to get rid of the thoughts that are building in my head but she won't let me, she just keeps speaking! "Oh, fresh sex is the best of all. I remember Damien didn't even give me a second to get a word out! As soon as I emerged he grabbed me and I'll be the first to admit, I have never had an encounter as amazing as that! You can imagine how giving Damien is in bed. That's why I make it a point to do the same for all of my children. Oh! I haven't introduced you! These are my children! Introduce yourself!"

How could I have not guessed by their crazy beauty and flirti...ness!? The love-sick puppies are her children! They go around the group, giving a bit of their personality as they answer, "Linda." "Bella." "Marigold." "Beau." "Harrison." "Talia." "Dan." "Roy."

My eyes open in surprise and I look at them and up to her,"These are ALL your children?"

She grins sheepishly as she looks them over, "Yes. I have ten more out in the world that were unable to come and visit. Don't be surprised, Damien as thirty-three! Now, tell me. How was it?"

"Apologies, Jolie, but Amie doesn't kiss and tell," it's Isabel come to my rescue! I grin wildly as she wraps her arm around my shoulder and ushers me away from the pouting group and off to another. She sighs with annoyance, "I don't understand what it is about Damien's lineage that is obsessed with sex."

I cast my face downward, trying not to think about what it would be like if Godric had kissed me the night I emerged, as I answer, "I guess someone has to be."

She gives me a brief smile that means she thought my comment was funny but not funny enough to laugh at. I grin triumphantly because...well...it still counts. She guides me to a group of beautiful women that look just like her-tall, graceful, beautiful, independant, fierce, strong, cool-and introduces me, "Amie, this is Rebecca," she says pointing to a blonde woman in a red short dress, "Kimbra," she says pointing to a woman with black short hair and bright blue eyes, "Lumiere," she says to a very tall woman that looks kind of like Tyra Banks but darker and more tribal like she was raised in the jungles of Afria, "And Kimora," she says to a woman that looks like that girl that kicked but in Kill Bill with the crazy spike ball.

They all give a cool sexy little wave that I have to learn how to give but I'm able to smile in return and give my best rendition of a princess-like greeting, "Hello."

They instantly begin talking about my dress and how Isabel did such a wonderful job styling my hair and how it was a wonderful decision to wear red because my skin is so pale and it really gives my face color, especially when I start to blush. They talk about how great it is to be turned at such a young age because I appeal to all age groups of men and in thirty to one hundred years down the line I'll still have a "timelessness" about me and I'll still be able to fit into any era. They mostly talk about things I don't understand and I wonder how Isabel can be friends with these women because they talk down on humans so much and make them sound stupid when in reality we were humans before...I don't understand what makes us so different but mostly I can't understand how Isabel can enjoy them.

I don't fully get back into the conversation until the one lady, Lumiere, asks me, "How was it that Godric was able to find you and you were turned?"

How was it...

Terrifying.

Frightening.

Horrible.

Painful.

Scary.

I'm transported back to that evening with my heart beating so wild and the weight of the gun in my hands and the screams everywhere at once and my helplessness...my increasing helplessness...and my inability to save myself or to save anyone. My eyes start to tear as the memories unfold slowly and slowly until their all before me like a deck of cards. Where's Godirc?

"Mind your tongue, Lumiere, you know it ain't acceptable to ask how someone was turned until at least the first hundred years."

Is that? I look up and it is! Stan has come to my rescue with his big cowboy hat and his big muscles and scary voice and the way he looks at her makes me feel so much better because it appears that he hates her more than he dislikes me! Instantly she straightens, they all secretly do-except for Isabel who groans out of annoyance, as if she's afraid of him and the fact that she spoke out of place, "Forgive me, Amie. It's been so long since I've been in the presence of someone as young as you are."

I open my mouth to say it's okay but suddenly Stan's strong arm is around my shoulders and he's pulling me away as he shakes his head, "Watch yourself."

He guides me away from the group and I start to feel really guilty; I can tell she felt really bad. I look up at Stan, "Thank you for helping but it really was alright. I know she didn't mean it in a mean way."

He grins mischeviously, "I know, but I just love getting one over that group of bitches. They act like they're so high and mighty, someone needs to remove the stick up their ass."

I want to laugh...but Isabel is in that group and he's most definitely talking about her too and...well...I love Isabel. She's always been really, really nice to me. Before I can even make a comment about it he pulls me into another group of large and muscular and tall and massive men and I stumble in the middle of it and they're all looking at me like I'm an injured deer and they're all lions! I'm about to scream and run away for help but all of a sudden Stan puts his arm around me again and he grins like we're the best of friends, "Can you fucking believe SHE took down that big sonovabitch Ryan? Now, I've seen him handle a new vampire like he's been around for four hundred years but before he could even blink an eye she had her fangs in his neck like he was a rag doll! And if that's not enough she tapped Isabel's human on the shoulder and he went FLYING!"

"No! I can't believe it!" A tall Jamacain vampire says in the coolest Jamacain answer I have ever heard!

"We need proof, video evidence," a man with a big brown beard says, crossing his arms over his chest as he shakes his head dismissively.

"It's the fucking truth! I saw it with my own two eyes!" Stan persists.

"Who the fuck is going to believe you!" The Jamacain guy shouts, making everyone in the group (even me) laugh because it's true...who is going to believe him.

"I'll bet your car collection that she can take anyone right here right now," Stan says in a voice that's so cold and so serious and I know it means he's not playing. This isn't a joke, he's really betting on me...and...I'm honored!

"Jame-"

"Now that ain't fair. He's six hundred years old and how is she supposed to get into a fight with the king of New York!" Stan shouts and for some reason it's like he's defending me or something and the more he does so the more I feel like...maybe there's something warm beyond all the mean and stuff.

"That's it! That's the final deal!" Jeremiah shouts, chopping his hands in the air angrily.

I slip out from under Stan's arm, half-expecting them to stop and bring me back but they don't even notice! They're still arguing! I laugh quietly to myself because this night just gets funnier and funnier but still...there's something wrong...Godric isn't with me. I look around the crowd and try to find him but he's no where in sight and that makes me really, really sad. I miss him...I miss his hand in mine...I miss his side against my side...I miss him...I miss him completely.

"Amiena!"

I turn around and there's James working his way through the crowd with a bottle of TruBlood and a smile. I wave weakly as he comes forward, disappointed that he isn't Godric but still happy that it's him. I wonder what it is about him that makes Godric so jealous. Maybe it's the idea that we know each other from _that_ place..maybe he thinks I _did stuff_ with him. I cringe at the thought. Godric has nothing to worry about. Isn't James the one that Damien has a crush on anyway?

"I was hoping I would catch you alone."

Isn't he?

I smile at him and shrug weakly, "Well here I am."

He chuckles softly, "Yes, here you are. I've been meaning to talk to you about that..." he blushes lightly and I laugh, "that night."

I shake my head quickly as I reply, "It's nothing to worry about at all! Really! None of that stuffs important anymore."

His face turns a strange color and he sighs, "I still would like the chance to explain myself. Do you have a second?"

I don't feel good. There's something about being alone with James that doesn't sound like a good idea. If Godric sees us together he'll be even more jealous and I really don't want that. But there's something in James' eyes that seems so...sincere like he really wants to explain to me and maybe it has something to do with how sad he always looks...maybe he just needs a friend. I smile and nod my head, "Of course I do."

"Great! I've been waiting to talk to you all evening," he says as he extends his elbow for me to loop mine through.

Shakily I do loop it through, noticing the TruBlood in his hand, "Why do you always drink TruBlood? I think it's pretty gross."

"Well, not too long ago I was at a party and I drank some blood that was infected with Hepiatitis D...so...TruBlood is all I'm living on," he says like he's really embarrased and suddenly I feel so guilty for asking.

I quickly change the subject, "So, you're the king of New York? Is that the city or the state?"

"Both, actually. It's funny that you ask, there's constantly dispute between whether I deserve to run both," he shakes his head with a laugh.

"Do you?" I ask before I can stop myself and just when I thought I was getting control over my stupid self!

"Well, that's to be determined," he smirks in a weird way I don't really like and suddenly the walk becomes silent and really awkward so I try to find anything I can to talk about and that's when I find he has this long sword thing against his side.

"Is that a sword?" I ask with curiosity because I've never seen anyone with one of those before except in the movies.

He grins happily as we walk toward the basement, "Yup. I designed it myself. When I was a human my father used to be a blacksmith and he taught me everything I know about sword making."

"That's so cool!" I grin but it doesn't last long.

We end up in a place by the basement where no one is and I feel really bad like I want to go back to the party because I don't like this place very much unless I'm with Godric. I touch the necklace he gave me, this is where he gave it to me. James sighs a heavy sigh I don't really like because it sounds like he's going to say something I don't want to hear, "Do you remember that night, Amiena? Where we first met?"

I nod my head, trying to guide us back around but he instead leads us forward toward the basement, "Yeah, you were very sad for some reason but I was thankful you saved me from Nelson and some of the others."

He looks to me as he opens the basement doors, "Nelson is dead you know. He's no longer there."

I don't say anything because I didn't know that but I can guess how he died. The night we escaped all the men were wearing stuff over their face so I couldn't really see who was who...but I wish I did kill Nelson...I wish I hurt him at least a little.

"Well...that night I found out that I was in debt to the IRS for my two hundred years of living without paying my taxes. You can imagine how much money that adds up to...," he sighs and before I can say anything he continues to speak, "You know, if we were going to get taxes the AVL should have warned us to save some emergency funds just for that. It's really ridiculous. I think Texas is the only state that isn't going through complete shit because of this."

"Is that why you and Damien have become such good friends?" I ask, suddenly worried James is trying to take Damien's money from him!

He blushes and laughs softly, shaking his head, "No! No! I found a new friend to assist me in my debt, the King of Mississippi. We've been friends for a while and he always told me I should save some money for when we come out of the coffin but I never believed it would happen."

"'Come out of the coffin?'" I ask, finding it such a weird expression because I haven't slept in any coffins since becoming a vampire. Do they really do that?

"It's a term we use meaning...you know...when we came out to the public about our existance. Whoa...what is this?" James asks, his attention suddenly on the open panic room.

I laugh softly because he's so scatter-brained...kind of like me! I point to it and answer, "This is the panic room."

"Wow!" he exclaims as he lets go of my arm and walks inside of it. I follow quickly so I can show him the fridge but before I can he speaks, "Anyway that night my friend Russel told me about the business opprotunity that I wasn't even aware of in my own Kingdom! And that was _Young Blood_-"

"Young Blood?" I ask quickly, feeling suddenly panicked and angry and disturbed.

"Yeah...well...that's the name of the establishment you worked fo-"

"Worked for? I didn't work there. I was a slave. They kidnapped me and sold me and made me work there and they beat me and starved me and if it weren't for Godric I would have died," I say, my words coming out angry and mean because that's exactly how I feel. How can he talk about it like it's just a stupid pub and not the terror that it is?

"I mean no offense by it. Most of the women that were...there...appeared as if it was their choice to work there. I was under the impression they were all willingly working in those conditions," he spits out so fast it sounds like a lie.

"Are you lying?" I ask, really, really confused because why would he need to lie?

"Yes." He says as he punches the blue button and the steel doors shut the only way to escape, "The truth of the matter is...I'm going to sound like such an asshole but...I've come to regain my property. You were bought by my dear friend Russell and that night I came to inspect that you were the right kind of goods. Frankly Godric stole you right from under us and it's safe to say we're very fucking pissed off."

"I don't understand," I snap angrily as I try to comprehend what he's saying. I was bought as a present for some stupid vampire king? I was put in that place on purpose?

"I'll make it simple for you. Godric stole you, turned you into a vampire, before the hand off could be made and now that you're a vampire...you're worthless to my friend...but now that you're a vampire...you've become something to me. You see Amiena, I'm a man that loves rules and Godric has broken damn near everyone of them by taking you away from me. You are mine, and I'm taking you back," he says stepping closer and closer to me while I step further and further back.

"You don't own me! You can't just steal people and pay money and call them yours! I was a human with a family and with friends! I wasn't a toy!" tears fall down my face because I'm so angry! How can he talk about me that way?! "And now I'm a vampire! And I am NOT yours! I am Godric's!"

Suddenly his hand lashes out and grabs me by my face so fast I didn't even blink and I'm shaking, shaking all over the place and I'm thinking hard "Godric! Godric please!" but he can't hear me and James hisses, "Mind your tongue in front of a king little girl. Are you really going to be a bad girl and make me teach you a lesson?"

I try to reply but he's squeezing my mouth shut so tight my fangs are cutting my mouth up so bad it hurts and I can't say a word.

He grins in a really scary way that makes me shake even more and his free hand suddenly grabs me tightly from behind like those men used to grab the girls which means he's going to try and do what I really don't want him to, "That's a good girl. Now...let me show you what a real man can d-"

I chop the inside of his arm holding my face and in his surprise I grab his wrist and spin around as I drop to one knee, making him lose his balance and flip over me. I scream as I rush to the red button but suddenly he grabs me from behind and throws me into the boxes and I fall down and they fall on top of me and I'm stuck in place with him standing over me and I scream, "Help!"

"You shouldn't have done that," he smirks as the cut on his face heals up.

"Leave me alone!" I shout so loud, trying to get someone ANYONE to hear me.

"I think you'll be displeased to find out, I don't respond well to rejection," he says and suddenly he grabs my legs and pulls me to him, trying to pull them apart but I scream and grab at the carpet as I kick them around but he's so strong, "Don't fight! Don't fight! I'm six hundred years old, baby, you're not getting away from me!"

"Help!" I scream as he flips me onto my stomach and I reach for what looks like a small tv and I throw it behind me and I think it hits him because he shouts and lets go of me and I run to the other side of the room for another box but he's right behind me and he grabs me by my hair and pushes me against the door so hard the wind is knocked out of me! And he grabs me by my arms but instead of pulling away I push myself off the wall and into him and he falls backwards onto the ground with me on top of him and I take this time to punch him in the face like my grandpa taught me as hard as I can with my right hand while I grab the tv I threw I begin to beat his face in with that I hit him repeatedly over and over and there's blood flying and he goes limp so I stop and I run to the door and I push the red button and the doors open and I open my mouth to scream but a hand comes up from behind me and shuts my mouth and pulls me back against a hard solid chest. I look up and see it's James' distorted face, healing and bloody, smiling through broken lips as he presses the blue button and pushes both into the wall so they are broken and of no use to anyone anymore. I'm dead...I'm really..really dead.

He pulls out slowly the sword from his side and holds it in front of me and it's here that I can see the long thick blade made of noneother than, "Silver...the purest in the world. It appears as though tonights pleasure will only be one sided."

I dig my elbow into his liver and he doubles over and his hand slips and I scream at the top of my lungs, "GODRIC!"

He throws me to the wall so hard I feel my head split open and I cry openly as I feel him grab my head and I scream as he slams it into the wall that feels like a thousand times metal and I feel my skull crack and break as James throws me against the ground and he stands over me, his face now almost healed, "Godric can't save you now. You are min-"

"That is where you are wrong."

I blink my eyes in disbelief! Godric! I stare up at him, holding James in the air by his neck with his sword on the ground and useless. James' face is distorted into all shades of fear and I watch as Godric's face takes in that pleasure. I've never seen this Godric before. He terrifies me.

"I opened by arms to you, extended my friendship, but perhaps I was too kind. You may conduct yourself differently in your kingdom but here there is one act that is unforgivable: harming the woman I love. Amiena is mine and the world will thank me for ridding it of your existance."

"Wait! No-!"

It's like someone squished a giant balloon of tamato saunce but instead Godric ripped his head off and his body exploded sending blood and vampire guts all over the place! I feel it, I feel him, all over me and on my face and my clothes and on my hair and in the cracks of my head that heals but he's dead...he's not going to hurt me anymore. Slowly I open my eyes and there Godric is, covered in the same gush that I am but somehow looking so much more beautiful than I remembered. He opens his mouth to speak but I don't let him.

In the time it took him to open his mouth my arms are already around his neck and my legs around his waist and as his mouth shuts his arms tighten around as well, tight, so tight like never before me and he holds me and I hold him and there's no pulling back. Not anymore. He said he loves. He really does.


	13. Chapter 13

_Meanwhile..._

"Oh! Oh! Nonononono! Wait for it, wait for it OH!" Stan shouted with delight as he and the other vampires watched with enthusiasm the footage of Amie's rescue. "Let's see that again!"

Stan rewinded the video again to the point in which Amie shrieks Godric's name and he slowed down the motion to reveal frame by frame Godric destroying the door Stan thought no one, not even he, could get through. The crowd watched again with rising enthusiasm, some shouted for him to go slower and some shouted to go fast fast fast as Godric yanked James from the ground by his neck and with one sweep of his claw removed his head. It's this that Stan ached to watch again and again and so he went nanosecond to nanosecond in anticipation, watching as the neck is removed from the shoulders and the body instantly explodes.

"OH-HOHOHO! That ladies and gentlemen is why NO ONE fucks with Godric!" Stan chuckled, rewinding it yet again to the face of James as he realized he is going to die and then slowly going forward to see how the expression shifted to full on terror as soon as Godric ripped and pulled. "Ain't that a beauty? Who here seen a vampire face the True Death before? Don't raise your hand, if you ain't laughing you've never seen it before and you sure as hell ain't laughing, don't lie! Thirty bucks at the door for your own private copy! Who wants to watch it again?!"

Everyone cheered for another go around and Stan was just about to oblidge until Jeremiah stepped before the screen, "I win."

"Win what?" Stan asked, rising to his feet as if to prepare for a physical altercation.

"The bet," Jeremiah spat out with a smirk that declared there was no dispute to be made.

The bet.

Stan suddenly recalled the bet and how he did put up the car collection on Amie beating James but he thought that bet was null-and-void once James picked up that cheap little sword of his. To declare a winner at this point was unrealistic. As far as Stan was concerned, it was a draw, "Now you know damn well there was no winner here."

"You know damn well Godric broke the rules by interferin-"

"JAMES BROKE THE RULES WITH HIS FUCKING SWORD!" Stan shouted, instantly shushing everyone in the crowd that gathered in hopes of watching another fight.

"If you're both gonna play that game then I suggest we review the tape and count who got how many hits and what happened before anything interupted the fight," It was Keefer's voice that broke the tension with his big brown beard, always the one to cool things down when they got too hot.

The crowd silently growns, it had been their hope to see two of the largest vampires have their own battle but Stan looked to Jeremiah, his ice eyes gazing deep into Jerry's mud, "Sounds good."

"I still know she ain't win. There's no way in hell she can beat him. She's two weeks old, that ain't never gonna happen," Jeremiah grumbled under his angry breath.

It was settled.

Stan rewound the tape all the way to the beginning, right when James grabbed her by her face. The crowd counted that as one hit, the first action, but that was quickly old news as frame by frame they watched Amie-little, tiny Amie-chop his arm. It was a simple action and counted as one point but the physical pain etched into James' features implied that there was so much more force behind that one move than really possible. Next was the flip and how she could get such a big man over her shoulder was beyond them. For a second the crowd disputed whether that was a defensive move or an action move and it was determined that it was a continuing action since his face showed the signs of pain upon hitting his back against the wall-point two. Next was the grab of her hair that many of the real fighters determined to be a "pussy move" since she was just a little girl and upon expanding on that thought the validaty of the fight was questioned because he attacked her and that was just unfair because how could a little girl defend herself? But Stan smirked with pride and told them to just watch.

The hair pull was a half point that was added to the full point given for throwing her against the wall and another half point was added for the aim he took to throw her against boxes that would topple over her and keep her in place. His pulling on her legs and rape attempt was thought to be negative points but after much dispute it was decided to be no points at all, however her defense was a half point. Her aim was commended greatly because of how she was able to lightly toss the small tv with the right force that caused the slightest rotation so that it would land against his head and face in a way that would crack the screen and cut him as well as cause blunt force trauma. Him grabbing her hair again awarded him another half point while pushing her against the wall gave him a full point since it created the intended affect of weakening her to the point that she was unable to get to the red button. So far, Amie: 2 and a half points James: 3.

But she comes back quickly.

Pushing her full weight onto James upon his pull was thought to be such a genius move she was awarded a full point and striking him in the face another. This was disputed as well but upon further looking into it was determined that her overall form was perfect and it was the punching of her fist that caused his face to cave inward, the tv was just an added touch. The addition of the tv only awarded her a half point, bringing her up to four points in total. His speed and recovery gave James another half point but the game was over at the point since shortly after the sword was drawn.

The vampires wait around, aching for another chance to view the explosion but suddenly the screen shuts off, causing a giant groan through out the crowd.

"Pathetic."

It's Isabel's voice and upon hearing it Stan stood from his hunched position and mumbled under his breath, "You have to be shitting me."

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Not one of you is younger than three hundred years old and still you devote yourselves to analyzing a poor young vampire fending off her attacker. Are you all that bored?" Isabel asked in a disgusted tone but it was more than disgusted..it was frightened, something only Stan could pick up upon. "Leave. The evenning is over. Dawn will approach in less than three hours. There will be no one staying tonight."

There was something odd in the way the vampires responded to her words as if they were ashamed to feel ashamed for enjoying themselves in bloody entertainment. They turned around and walked to the door and while some hesitated, others gladly picked up the dvd that was waiting at the door and pushed the thirty dollars into the jar. Isabel waited with arms folded over her chest, unaware of the copies being distributed, and watched as Stan smirked to Jeremiah, "I won."

"That shit ain't far. That shit ain't far at all. Ain't natural, ain't natural," he mumbled as he walked out the door, snatching his own copy of the dvd without leaving any money behind.

"You should be ashame-"

"I heard your speech the first time 'round, Isabel. I get it. Blah, blah, blah, Amie almost died, blah, blah, blah she didn't," Stan said, rolling his eyes impatiently as he folded his own arms over his chest.

"There's more to it than that! After all that Godric has done for us you exploit his trouble to all the vampires here, making them all witnesses! Do you not understand what has just happened! Our Sheriff just killed the king of New York!" Isabel yelled with panic flowing through her because as she tried to make Stan realize it she realized it herself. Godric had commited the cardinal sin.

"Shit..." was all Stan could say. In fact he had not thought the consequences through of Godric's actions. His continual watching of the tape was from pride, overwhelming pride, that his Sheriff had acted out and carried out the right kind of justice. Stan had warned James, that son of a bitch, that Amie was Godric's and no one was going to get between them and as far as Stan was concerned James got what he deserved. For the past few decades he believed Godric had been slacking completely in laying down the right kind of law and it was because of this he thought people were begining to take advantage. Not anymore. Stan saw this as a new era and at the very least a reminder. Don't fuck with the two thousand year old vampire.

"Shit is correct," Damien's voice came from behind them and for the briefest of seconds both Stan and Isabel anticipated an altercation but there was none. While Jolie had suspected Damien had a crush on James it was only a suspicion. Damien's interest in him was only in a friendly manner, again he was trying to save a lonely soul. "James had very old friends in very high places, not to mention seventy-two children that will be seeking revenge for the death of their maker. If that video gets out Amie will be the number one target."

"Don't worry, we will not let that happen," Isabel answered with such fierceness it filled Stan with an instant fear. He had seen Isabel fight and although she was often too chicken shit to do anything, when she did she held back nothing and didn't stop til death. He was in deep shit too.

"Actually...I sold the tape for thirty bucks a pop," Stan muttered the word under his breath, unable to explain what he had done fully to anyone just yet.

"YOU WHA- Godric!"

All eyes turn to the vampire covered in the blood of his latest victim and if the situation wasn't so grave they would have laughed. Godric appeared with his arms at his sides, not really touching, and his head slightly cast downward like a child that knew he had done wrong and was coming to be scolded. His face was calm and humble and waited patiently, as always, for everything to be said before he himself would speak.

Of course, Isabel spoke first, "What were you thinking Godric! Do you know what you have done?!"

"Of course he knows what he fucking did!" Stan yelled, instantly coming to Godric's defense.

"Oh don't you dare speak! You made this situation one thousand times more difficult to handle! Because of YOU Amie is in even more trouble than ever!" Isabel screamed, stepping toward him with her fist balled up tight.

"Because of me?!" Stan screams. He turns to Godric who is as still and impassive as ever and shouts," I apologize, Sheriff, for my brash behavior but I will not apologize for indulging in the fact that you did what you needed to do! I am proud of you and I am honored to serve you because you took that son of a bitch and you did something, you taught everyone a lesson and if you all think Amie is in real trouble you're dumber than he was. After everyone sees that tape Godric will become a god. No one will mess with the man that ripped James' head off with his bair hands, no one."

"While that is the truth and I do agree with you completely you neglect one tiny aspect. I have had the pleasure to meet some of James' children and while some are just as dumb as he, others are brilliant. We need to take action now and I believe our first step is explaining the situation to the magister before anyone else can do it before us," Damien said these words slowly as if he were trying to get Stan to calm and understand them. It wasn't that Damien believed Stan was slow, he just believed Stan's first resort-violence-needed to be counteracted with the only real solution. His next statement was said in a quicker pace, this time directed to Godric," And Amie must not come. The magister has no interest in sweet girls like Amie and he will view you to be too weak willed because of her Godric. As far as I am concerned Amie must stay very low on the radar while we figure this all out."

"That sounds like a good idea. Is there anywhere she can go? What about with Jolie?" Isabel asked instantly, knowing that Jolie was fond of Amie and would create a fun environment where there would be little stress or worry.

"Unfortunately I cannot promise that. Jolie will be bringing into the world a new child tomorrow evening and all of her efforts will be brought into that task. I would suggest anothre one of my children but there will be no way to stop them from attempting to seduce he-"

Before the thought was even completed Godric interupted, unable to continue to hear the rest of the possibility, "Eric will take care of her. I will speak to him at once and ensure that he will keep her under his very close supervision."

"Are you sure?" Isabel asked tentatively, unsure if _Fangtasia_ was the right place for a sweet girl like Amie.

"There is no one I trust more," Godric 's answer was final and there was no way anyone could dispute it, even if they wanted to. "Stan, arrange for the first planes of the evening to meet us tomorrow with coffins awaiting our arrival. Isabel, gather appropriate clothing for Amie that will hide her identity. And Damien."

"I will speak to Luisa at once," Damien nodded his head, understanding already the actions that needed to be taken in order to get his good friend out of the clear but as Stan and Isabel instantly left he was unable to stop himself from looking to Godric and seeing the deep sadness within. He had just found his love, just admitted it as well...and now...now there was no telling what was left for him. The intentions of the magister were never predictable; the only thing that was ever certain was his cruelty. "What will you do, old friend?"

Godric's head slowly lifted to meet Damien's eye, "Comfort Amie as best as I can."

"Love her, Godric, love her as if this may be your only chance to," Damien urged.

Godric's head lowered as he sighed, "I already do."

At that James left the nest that had become silent and empty despite the sound of the shower head flowing in the bathroom. Godric attempted not to think but he could not get Damien's last words out of his mind. He would love her. He would love her with all of his heart.


	14. Chapter 14

The water is warm on my skin but it's gentle like little taps and not like the rain at home. It doesn't automatically make the gush go away, the gush sticks to me like it's trying to climb into my skin and abduct me from within. I grab the body soap that Isabel has waiting for me, never been opened, and I open it, not bothering to smell what scent it is. I feel a weird feeling like I'm going to explode from the inside out but because of my vampire mind I can push that physically to the very, very back of my mind and I can focus all my attention on all of my actions even though all of my actions bring me closer and closer to thinking about it.

Don't think about it.

I scrub my body hard with the soap even though I'm shaking really hard and holding onto myself so I can stay together but he's still on me and he's everywhere and-

Don't. Think about it.

The gush starts to loosen and it falls down the drain like the dirt that I used to get myself dirty with but it's not the same. I really wish I was back home and I was swimming in my pond because that pond is so wonderful and so warm and so nice with all the fishes swimming around and I feel really bad because I didn't get a chance to enjoy it last time I dipped into it. I feel so stupid for doing that. As I shake I feel so very foolish for thinking that was important.

I finish my shower but I don't want to get out. I want to stay in the enclosed area with the glass doors around me that ensure that no one can see me because I can't see anyone else. I don't want to leave. But I know I have to. I open the door a little and peak out to see if anyone is hiding and waiting but there's no one there. Instead, waiting for me is a towel and a robe and a dress that I can change into but I don't like the dress because it's red like blood and like the stuff that I was caked in and the explosion of body par-

Don't think about it.

Slowly I step out of the shower and grab the towel, making sure to wrap it tight around me so it doesn't fall down. I grab the robe too and tie it tight around my waist so there's no chance that anyone can grab my robe from me without a fight. I don't put on the dress. I leave it there because I already feel so icky I don't want the icky feeling to be cemented in by all the fabric and I don't want to feel like I'm going to be trapped with this feeling forev-

I touch my necklace to stop my train of thought. Thankfully it helps but it's not the same as having Godric's arms around me. The way he ushered me into the bathroom, the way he plucked me off, the way he pulled his head off...I can't think about that.

There is a light knock on my door and it's like I've been captured. I stay still in my spot like a deer in head lights because what if it's him? What if he's not dead and he's come back because he's very, very angry and he wants to finish what he started or maybe it's his friend. Who did he say? The King of Mississippi? What if he's here to collect me? What if?

I here a soft sigh than sends a shiver through my body because I know who it belongs to. Godric's soft whisper fills the enclosed hot area, "Amie, are you finished?"

"Yes!" I say quickly because I want him to come in with me and hold me but I don't want to go out there, not where all that stuff happened and not where all those people were.

"Come, I have prepared your TruBlood for you," he sounds nervous and scared and suddenly I'm worried because if he's nervous then something really, really bad is happening or going to happen and I don't know if I can take anymore bad horrible things happening again.

"It's okay...I'm not hungry," I lie. I'm starving. I feel like my body is eating itself from the inside out but I shush myself. It's only been a few hours. It was only a week, maybe two, that I was actually starving with only scraps to eat-if I was lucky-and here I am...spoiled. I'm here spoiled.

"I can hear your stomach growl through the door. There is no need to lie," he says in a stronger voice. In this way that makes me feel like there is a reason to lie, like he's so exhausted I don't want to bother him.

I can feel inside of him he is tiresome. He's sick of the constant drama that vampire life is and because of me I have stired an otherwise peaceful night. I'm so stupid...I shouldn't have gone down there with James, I knew it was a bad idea and now his body is splattered all over the panic room and even down the drain and on close and at any second...he could come back together...Isn't that what vampires do? Heal quickly and rappidly? Isn't there a chance he can come back? I squeeze my eyes shut and hold myself in my arms. This is my quiet place. This bathroom filled with warmth is safe, I don't want to go back out there.

"Ami-"

"I don't want to go out there," I answer honestly. I don't. I want to stay in the place all alone where no one can hurt me but just the thought enters my brain I wish to take it back. I don't want to be alone. More than anything I want Godric. Godric. A smile comes to my face that I can't hide with my fear because he said that he loves me and he held me tight without fear of who saw and he saved me. I reach for the doorknob and I slowly open it, "But you can come in."

His hand reaches forward to grab the door as if he can't take the suspence. I want to look at his face but I don't want to see what is there beneath it. There's something he's not telling me and there's something he's not going to tell me, I already know, but just having him here with me is enough. I take the TruBlood from his hand and feel his fingertips brush across mine and it's the same kind of spark it always is that makes me get all red in the face. Red...I don't think I like that color very much.

I look down at the TruBlood but it's so icky and goopy...like the stuff that swirled down the drain and suddenly I feel like I lost my appetite. I glance up at Godric to give it back to him but when I do I change my mind. He looks so sad...the kind of sad that means he's mad at himself for not protecting me and then I think...I think...why didn't he stop it before? I take a sip of the TruBlood without looking at it and before I can stop myself I ask, "Godric...why didn't you feel my fear?"

"Oh, Amie."

I look up suddenly and I see his eyes are rimmed with red which means he's going to cry and pain pulls on my heart because I'm the one that brought it up and I'm the one that made him feel this way. He opens his mouth and there's a fraction of a quiver of his bottom lip and before I know it my arms around him, holding him tightly against me as I dig my face into his new clean and fresh shirt that smells like the stuff my mom used to wash clothes with. Why am I so stupid?

"Amie it was my foolishness that caused you the greatest harm. In a matter of seconds I had lost my control over my emotions and allowed you to depart with him although I knew of his dispicable habits. I had believed you had some sort of affection for him and when I felt your panic I had misinterpreted it to mean that you were in ecstasy," he spits out his words quickly as he holds onto me tight and I try to understand them but it's so hard. He thought I liked James and he thought we were...doing...stuff...and he was so upset that he didn't want to interfere? Is that what it is?

I shake my head angrily, "How could you be so dumb, Godric? Can't you feel it? Can't you feel how much I love you? Can't you feel it coarsing through your veins, in everyone of my actions and emotions? Can't you feel that there is no one else on this stupid planet for me? Don't you know that you're the only person I will ever love?"

There is a long pause of silence in which his grip on me gets tighter and tighter like he's trying to smother me inside of his chest and I don't mind that at all, I want to live in there. I want to go back home. Finally though he lets out a soft sigh, "That is what frightens me. You are so new...you will not feel this way for lo-"

I pull away and slam my TruBlood against the ground, "How dare you say that! How dare you think that?! You think because of all my 'changes' and what ever it is you said that my feelings aren't real?! Godric if you leave me here to wait for a thousand years I will still love you! No matter how old or how young I am!"

"Sh...Sh...come here, my child," he murmers against my head as his arm pulls me back into my safe place. I didn't realize I was sobbing and shaking so violently and the more I cry the more I realize what I've been holding in this entire time.

"Don't belittle my feelings because you think they aren't sincere! Why is it so hard for you just to accept what I keep telling you over and over?! Why?!" I want to hit is chest and call him mean, horrible names but instead I squeeze him and keep him pressed tightly against me so that he can never let go. I feel a great wave of grief that hits so deep I know I can never understand. He's trying to tell me something, he's trying to explain without having to explain and without using words. He's been so alone his whole life he can't believe someone can love him...is that what it is? Is it because of all the bad things he's done? I calm down a little but my tears are still flowing like they're never going to stop. I take big fistfuls of his shirt as I whisper, "I don't care what you did and how many people you've killed, okay? I don't care about all the secrets you have locked deep down inside of you...You're all that matters, okay? That's it."

I don't expect him to say anything and he doesn't. Instead speaks again through our bond and lets me know he'll never truly understand what I mean and I let him know that I'll wait forever until he does. We stay locked in our position for what feels like seconds but I know because of how the air feels and the way the TruBlood sticks to the ground that a few hours must have passed. That's one thing I hate so much about being a vampire...time goes by so quickly...everything just passes.

I look up at Godric and see his eyes are closed, even as he loosens his grip to let me step back. I admit halfheartedly, "Godric, I want to go home."

"Okay," is his only response. He opens his eyes and lowers his hand to wipe my face clean but I know it can only be clean with a good scrubbing. He lifts me up in his arms suddenly and before I know it we're in our livingroom alone, just the two of us with no reminder of what had happened around. The lights are all off in the house but that doesn't matter; it makes everything better, easier to go through. He kisses the top of his head and whispers in my hair, "I have something to tell you."

"I know...you're leaving me," there I go again. I'm crying. I really wish I could stop but what he told me about being locked away for five years in a coffin encased in silver burns images into my head of my poor Godric going crazy with no way for me to help him. It's not fair...not now that he's just begun to love me too. I can't have him taken away from me so soon.

"Stan, Damien, Isabel and I will be on a plane to the magister first thing tomorrow evening," he says this in a way that has no emotion and I want to yell at him for being so cold but when I look into his blue eyes I see they are raging storms of pain...he's being strong for me.

"What about me?" I can't help but to ask. If I'm alone anyone can get me...especially James' friend.

"At the same instance you will be flying to meet Eric who will care for you while I'm away."

No! Ugh! Eric! I don't know him and already I know I don't want to meet him. 'What makes this one different?' replays in my mind and the tone there tells me he already doesn't like me. He's even more of a threat than anyone else!

"Don't make that face, Amie, he is your brother and there is no vampire I trust more with your care than he. You will give him the respect he deserves and you will treat his law as if they were my very own. Do you understand?" he sounds so strict and serious I can't help but to laugh at the difference between this Godric and the one that was here just seconds ago. It's really amazing to see how quickly he can change and not to mention how cute he sounds when he's being serious, "Are you mocking me?"

"No!" I shout, shaking my head quickly. I don't want to tell him how hot I think it is when he gets strict with me because it would only just embarass us but I feel like there's really no way out, "I just...I think it's funny how cute you are when you're being scary and serious."

"Oh...," he says and his face gets all red and adorable like I knew it would I can't help but to laugh more. I expect him to pull away and hide his face but instead he does something even crazier. He leans his forehead against mine and looks into my eyes in a way he never has before, "You think I'm cute?"

Ugh! I can't help myself! My fangs pop out of my mouth and I have to hide my face to stop it from exploding! How did he do that?! It's like some kind of crazy mind control or something that just makes me feel so much better when really I feel so sad. He laughs over me and presses his face against the side of mine and I can bairly feel the corners of his lips against my cheek and it's set in stone that my fangs are going no where, "Why do these stupid things keep coming out?"

"Your fangs respond based upon your emotions. They 'pop' out upon anger, hunger, and in most cases arousal."

Oh no, at the word 'arousal' I grip onto his neck and press myself against him like I've seen the girls do when the guys are cute and nice and funny and they want to go but I have to stop myself...or do I? What's stopping me? What's stopping us? After all...this could be the last time I ever see him again...how no...my fangs fall back into my mouth with a sad 'pop.' I can feel Godric loosening me and I know he knows I'm sad again.

He pulls his body back but he keeps his face close with his hand on the back of my neck, keeping my face from turning away. I feel his soft breath as he asks, "Amie...what is the matter?"

"Godric...what's going to happen to you?" I ask with no worry of crying..my despair is much too deep tears.

His hand on my neck slips to my cheek and he cups it gently as he closes his eyes and rests his face against mine again. I'm melting in this open affection and I love it so much I don't ever want this night to end...I don't want to see what's waiting for me tomorrow, "My fate is still to be determined, however we are taking as many preventative measures as we possibly can. I doubt that I will have to face the same consequences as the others. My advanced age along with Damien's title will work in my favor."

"But what if it doesn't?" I can't help but to ask.

"Trust me, Amie," he smiles in a way that makes me smile too and feel so much better, "I will never leave you."

"Swear?" I ask, as I look up into his eyes so that he has no possible way of lying.

He nods his head, looking back at me with the same intensity, "I swear. Now, I believe you were unable to finish your TruBlood. Am I correct?"

I blush brightly as I think of my outburst and the fact that I actually THREW the glass against the floor! He probably worked so hard on it too! I can't wait for the day these mood swings to end. I nod my head with embarresment because he already knows the answer, he doesn't need me to say it out loud.

"Come. Shall I make you another glass?" He asks, pulling away and taking my hands to guide me away.

I shake my head slowly, grabbing onto his hands to keep him in place, "No...I just...I just want to lay down for the rest of the night. I don't want to do anything else."

I see a small blush come and go so quickly if I wasn't paying attention I wouldn't have noticed it. He nods his head and slowly, shaking away my hands as he steps away, "I will meet you in my chambers."

Before I can protest he's gone and I know I really have embarresed him but I know it's fine. I know he's not going to neglect me anymore. I walk to my room quickly and in my room I see my nightgown waiting for me on the bed. I smile softly as I think of Godric and how with the softest touch he cascaded it onto my bed for me-he's so sweet.

I remove my robe and towel and begin to put on the night gown but then I rememebr Isabel and my undergarments. I see now a telltale heart sticker, so tiny and new, over a dresser drawer that must mark the treasure. I shake my head with a smile. She's so sweet. I walk to the dresser and see a plethora of underwears in different styles and colors and shapes and I find, to my surprise, the style I used to love so much. I pick it up, an all white pair with no design, and I put them on deciding a bra wouldn't be necessary. I slip into my night gown without bothering to check out how I look. He's not going to be looking at my out fit tonight.

I rush to his door and lift up my fist to knock but before I can it opens and he's standing before me like he was just the other night, except this time with a shirt. We don't say a word. Instead we meet in his bed, back to the place I had awoken in with his arms tight around me like he's afraid he's going to open his eyes and see that I've left. It's the perfect place to be, in his arms. Finally, I'm home.


	15. Chapter 15

An hour.

I sip on my TruBlood slowly, listening with one ear to Godric outside talking to Eric while my other ear listens to Stan and Isabel bickering. I don't think anyone is excited about leaving tonight. I lean against the counter but I have to stop because the stupid ichy tag on my jean shorts rubs against my back in this awkward weird way that I hate. I don't understand why I can't wear my pretty dresses...well...I guess I do. Isabel said how she had mentioned to her friends and they had mentioned to the others that Amie has never warn anything but the exotic dresses that she herself designed for me and so all vampires just assume that I will always be wearing my dresses. Now that I think about it...it feels pretty awesome to have the kind of reputation of being so stylish.

But still.

As a vampire I didn't realize how quickly it is to make habits and to want to keep them. Wow. So many of my little habits are going to be ruined...Godr- No! I promised I was going to cry and I'm not going to break that promise now. I keep drinking my TruBlood but I look past the cup and at my outfit. Isabel picked out every aspect of it so I know it looks good but still...I don't feel like Godric's princess. I feel like...I guess like a normal human sixteen year old. But there is one bonus. My shirt is amazing. It's long and flowy and it doesn't show anything except for the Beastie Boys on the front and that's awesome because my dad used to love the Beastie Boys so now I love them too.

Oh and my bag! I look at it on the floor and grin because it's so cool, although empty now-except for my cheetah rayban sunglasses-it still looks cool because it has a floral pattern and looks like those bags cool "hipster" girls used to wear on their backs from PacSun, except this one is from France-I can tell by the tag. But that's not the best part. The best part is that Stan bought it for me. Even though he wont admit it, Isabel told me with a secret smile.

But...why did he buy it for me?

Isn't he mad at me for losing all the cars? Maybe he's trying to butter me up until I'm weak so he can strike. Maybe he's just being nice...no...that doesn't sound like it either. Before I can figure it out though Stan enters the room with a huff of annoyance, "Alright, Amie. Your bags are packed and loaded into the truck. Godric's out there making the final arangements on the phone and Isabel is doing some shit with your clothes. I don't know it's supposed to be a surprise."

"Okay..." I say quietly as I finish up my cup and put it down on the counter. Stan turns around to leave but I stop him, "Wait."

He doesn't stop completely at my word and his eyes are cold like he's trying to challenge me on who has the authority and who doesn't. I want to give it to him completely because he's like...what...three hundred years old but I can't do that. I know vampires now and as a vampire myself I can't back down just yet from a confrontation. They're like dogs with eye contact. Once you make eye contact you can't look away because that means you're giving up the control. And I don't want to give up my control...but wait...this isn't about that.

"I just wanted to say..I'm sorry for making you lose...," I say in a soft voice to try to weaken the tension growing between us with the contest I haven't given up.

But it's like a new Stan has been put in front of me because he grins and even looks away with happiness before meeting my eye again, "Lose? I didn't fucking lose. Because of you I won the car collection and $500,000."

"What?" I ask in confusion. Did he bet against me or something? "But...I lost! James attacked me and I couldn't beat him and Godric had to come and save me...that's why we're in this mess!"

He smirks and shakes his head, "That little pussy ruined the fight when he brought is sword in the middle of things. At that point everything got mixed up so we decided to count points based on offense tactics applied by both parties. You won easily."

I did? I can't help but to smile a little because I did something good for Stan and the bag must be a thank you from him. But wait...how did they all see it? I look up at him, "How did you all see it?"

He laughs as he folds his arms over his chest, "Isabel wasn't lying when she said I got cameras **everywhere.** Oh...and by the way..."

This is the bad part. This is when he tells me something mean because Stan can't be nice because he doesn't like me. Sure he bet on me to beat James but that's because he didn't like James and sure he bought me the bag but that's because he was thankful I helped him win. Now is when things get back into order.

He leans in and stares into my eyes like he had when we were challenging each other for authority, "What you did was incredibly brave for someone your size and age. The way you fought...I never saw anyone fight like that before with everything against you. Anyone else would have died instantly but not you. No matter what anyone tells you, short-stack, that was fucking amazing. And not to mention what Godric did, shit, I never thought I'd see a vampire meet the True Death like that not to mention by Godric's hand. You bring out the best in him, and that's what I like to see."

I solid grin forms on my face that makes no promise of going anywhere. I relish in the fact that if all of this is coming from Stan then it must be true. It must be true but speaking of true...he said True Death, "Stan...what's the True Death?"

"All you need to know is when a vampire faces the True Death there aint no coming back from that. They are gone. James will never hurt you again."

That's all the assurance I need. I smile at that point and walk past Stan as I swing my backpack onto my shoulder. I glance backward and grin, "Well come on, tall-stack, they're waiting for us."

Before he can say anything I run to meet Godric who hangs up the phone at the same instance I appear. He smiles as I come and he opens his arms for me which I quickly take advantage of by hurling myself into them so hard he has to step backward. He laughs softly as his arms fold around me and I grab onto his shirt to pull him in closer, "Amie, you look wonderful."

I blush brightly but I don't hide it because my face is already in his chest. I laugh as I shake my head, pulling back so I can a little spin, "I don't look wonderful, I look cool. Isabel dressed me."

"I packed designated outfits for you to wear through out the week," Isabel says as she passes by and adds one more bag to the trunk before Stan comes and pulls it away, "Stan! Put that back!"

"She don't need anymore clothes!" Stan hollers in responce and I can't help but to laugh at them bickering over my clothes. It's definitely something he never, ever wanted to do in his life.

But Godric stiffens in my arms which I know means that we have to get going in order to make our schedule. I remember asking him why we can't just leave and hide like he did before but he told me the stupid Authority is everywhere and will never let us get away with this. Especially at a time like this. But he didn't elaborate on what kind of time this was. Instead he made me promise not to cry like I was at the time and it's a promise I'm going to keep.

Godric ushers me into the backseat of the truck but I don't jump in like I normally do, instead I take my time going in. He knows what I'm doing so he doesn't rush me. But when I get inside I quickly curl up against him like a cold cat but he doesn't seem to mind. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close and I can't help but to blush and grin at this move because he's never done it before. I snatch his free hand quickly and hold it between mine because I want to feel it, I want to feel it in mine forever and I want to feel his fingers squeezing mine and the little game that he plays with me as he pulls his hand away so that his fingertips can brush against the back of my hand and over my face. I want this Godric...forever.

We begin moving and I look up quickly because I notice Stan isn't in the car with us, "Where's Stan?"

"He's taking the other truck. That one has our luggage in it," she answers absentmindedly and I glance behind us in shock. There are so many bags-and not just bags either, Luis Vuitton- that fill up the trunk entirely! I grin, Isabel has taken care of everything.

Godric looks at me with this curious look that's half happy and half sad but I don't feel anything really strong and that makes me a little upset because I know he's still trying to be tough for my sake. But it's not going to work. I know as soon as he puts me on the plane I'm going to cry so hard and there's some part of me that takes satisfaction in that. I've been holding it in so much that a good cry would benefit me right about now.

I take Godric's hand again and this time it's still and limp between both of mine which means we must be close. Oh no. I lower my face into his shoulder and breathe in the scent of him, the lavander and the Earth and the magnificent. I try to memorize every part of him while we're still together because it's the little things I know I'm going to miss so much. Why am I thinking about that? Why am I thinking about how much am I going to miss him when he's still right here? I'm so foolish.

His hand rests under my chin and pulls my face toward him. He looks into my eyes with this smile that means _Don't forget our promise._ I give him a weak smile back and nod, letting him know that I wont. His fingers spread across my cheek with the threat that it's going to take over my face but that's just like him, isn't it? He gives only so much before he completely consumes. That's not how he is. His thumb traces across my bottom lip and I smile weakly at the touch that makes my cheeks go red all over. I want to say "I love you" but I don't want him thumb to move, not yet. Oh Godric, please don't leave me.

The truck stops inside of a hangar between two large planes. The airport is small and I wouldn't be surprised if Damien or Godric owned it themselves, along with the planes. I try to get caught up in how big the planes are and how cool everything is but I can't help the feeling of lonliness that grows inside of me. As soon as I feel the pain in my chest Godric nuzzles my cheek with his nose and it's like a fire is lit inside of me that will keep me warm for the rest of my life. He knows just what to do to make me happy again.

We get out of the car, with a quicker pace, and it's there that Damien meets us. He had been standing alone, checking some gold watch, but as soon as Godric and I get out of the car a large smile blooms on his face that sends me grinning. I hadn't noticed before but he dresses so well! It's really amazing the style that each vampire has, as if it's a requirement to look good no matter what you prefer to wear. I hope that one day I'll be able to do the same!

"It's wonderful to see you both. For a moment there I was worried you would both run into the wilderness," he smiles, as he places his hands on both of our shoulders.

"I would not dare leave you to clean up my mess, Damien," Godric says with a seriousness that reminds me just how important honor and loyalty are in the vampire community.

Damien chuckles as he pulls his hands away, "I know. Now. Shall we get on the planes? In two minutes we will be late."

"Late?" I ask in confusion. Late for what?

"The older you get, Amie, the easier it is to realize how quickly time can slip from you when you don't pay attention. We tend to enjoy scheduling every aspect, especially travel," Damien explains with a nod of his head. He reaches his hand forward again and rests it on my cheek tenderly, "This is not goodbye, Amie. We will return before you know."

I smile and nod my head, letting him know that I believe him, I believe he will take care of my Godric. Damien turns but motions for Godric's attention and in their secret language of looks he tells Godric that he needs to speak with him and Godric leaves me without a word. I frown as I watch him walk away but before I can cry Isabel is before me with a camera that looks so cool and new and not even so big but defintely high tech in her hands. She opens the strap the holds the camera and places it around my neck, not meeting my eye at all. She takes hold of my shoulder gently, "Activity helps ease the distance. You will enjoy yourself and the friends you make. Don't forget a single one."

Before I can say thank you she is gone and I turn around to see that she is walking up the steps of the airplane. I look at her, trying to meet her eye but she is in the private jet so fast I can't even say goodbye. She's going to miss me, I think. A big hand suddenly rests on my shoulder but before I can escape Stan passes me with a chuckle, "I like that instinct. Next time though, someone touches you like that you kill 'em. No questions asked. See you, short-stack."

The fear that made me react starts to evaporate and I laugh, waving weakly, "See you, tall-stack."

Wow...it hits me now roughly, I'm going to miss them. I'm going to miss all of them. I look behind me at the plane and sigh, the steps are waiting for me to enter and fly away from my family. I think I'm going to cry.

"Amie."

I turn around and grin wildly as Godric pushes my camera behind to my back and then wraps his arms around me and hugs me, pinning my arms to my sides so I can't move or do anything. I laugh softly and pretend to try and pull away but I don't want to and I know he knows that and I can hear that make him laugh. But the laughing stops because in a minute he's going to be late. He lets me stand firmly on the ground but he doesn't release his grip and I don't want him to. I rest my forehead against him and breathe in his scent one more time, just like he does in my hair. I promised him, I did.

He pulls back slightly but I keep my face down so that I don't look into his eyes. He rests his hand on my cheek again, the same way as if it's going to strech out over my whole head, and whispers against my ear, "I will call you every night."

"Promise?" I ask, this time lifting my head.

He nods firmly, "I swear it."

I just lift my eyes up enough to see his brief smile but I shut them again because he pulls away. Without looking I put the camera back in front of me so that the strap doesn't cover my necklace but then a thought appears to me, "Godric."

He turns around and that's when I snap my first picture of him and I can't deny that it is the most beautiful picture I have ever seen in my life. I don't look at him but I look at the picture instead, I have a piece of him now no matter what. I turn to get onto the plane but suddenly I feel his hands take my face into both of them and he holds it so gently and firmly so that I can't let go and I'm so confused that I can't do anything but look into his eyes that are so sad and desperate I want to cry. He says softly, "Don't look so sad."

"I can't help it," I reply, turning my face away while his hands fall.

I expect that to be it but then suddenly his hand rests on my cheek and guides my face against his lips that press against his ear, "I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart). I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling). I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet). I want no world (for beautiful, you are my world, my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you. Here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than the soul can hope or the mind can hide), and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart. I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)."

And even before the words have sunk in his lips press against mine in the sweetest kiss that releases my soul and opens me up wide to the beauty of the world, the true beauty of all human and nonhuman life. And then like that his lips are gone, but not forgotten. I reach my fingers up to my lips to make sure they haven't left with him but they're still there. Still here.

"Excuse me, Miss."

I turn around slowly and open my eyes to see a woman, a human flight attendant, waiting for me. But there's no trouble. I can hardly hear her heartbeat or smell her blood. Even when I'm sitting on the plane...I'm still millions of millions miles away.


	16. Chapter 16

"She will arrive before dawn. You will meet her at the airport and escort her to _Fangtasia _at once. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Godric."

Yes, Godric.

It was the only answer Eric could get in after each of Godric commandements that were spoken in a tone that asked a question that required no answer and yet forced him to answer with the only thing he could-Yes, Godric.

Eric hid his obvious frustration and annoyance deep down inside of himself, in the part that only Pam could feel, and continued to note all of Godric's orders. She will sleep no later than 3 A.M., she will not feed on human blood, she will have a TruBlood once in the morning and once in the evening, she will not speak to any other vampires during hours of business, and most importantly she will not leave his sight-not even for a moment. To every commandment Eric nodded and answered with the signature "Yes, Godric" but that was not all. In order to give ease to Godric's obvious worry he repeated and added how each task would be accomplished, to which he was awarded with "Yes, Eric." "Brilliant." "I am in your debt."

It was with the good graces that Eric was reminded of the simple fact this favor would never be given to another vampire. As each new law was given, he was reminded of how much he hated new vampires and how difficult they were to break in, especially one as spoiled as Godric's new child must be. Eric secretly promised himself he would change her behavior and sculpt her into the perfect child for Godric...but it was as if Godric was in his head and knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Do not change her, Eric," the words came out so suddenly Eric had no response for them and so Godric continued, "No matter how irrational she may be and no matter how often she may cry do not change her. Do not make her like us."

Like us? What did he mean? Eric thought to himself but made no move to comment. It was Godric's love speaking through him. He meant nothing more than he did not wish for Amie to lose her childish spark. He did not mean anything else. Eric had to remind himself of these things. It was so easy for him to instantly jump to jealousy and to challenge Godric's affection but he had to remind himself, with much effort, of his time with Godric. It wasn't that he loved her more, he loved her differently. Godric was in love for the first time in his life, after all, and it was this insanity that caused him to speak and act out in odd manners. Eric was still Godric's child and that would never change. Eric sometimes forgot these things.

"And most of all, Eric, do not let Pamela take her innocence."

It was this that Eric had to fight back. Godric had his child to protect and Eric had his child to defend. It wasn't as if she had no moral compass, "I doubt Pam will see her as anything but a nuissance. Her taste is too high for a child, she prefers her toys to have more experience."

"You know what I mean, Eric."

In fact he did. He knew Godric meant to stop Pam from doing what she did best, crushing spirits. It was just in Pam's nature, nothing she did intentional. She never met a person and decided it would be amusing to ruin their being. Pam just...wasn't good at making friends. He would have to keep an eye on her, "Yes, Godric. I will speak to her before Amie lands."

The conversation seemed to be wrapping up and Eric was just about to hang up when suddenly Godric's voice seem to speak beyond the reciever, ''My child."

"_Yes, Father_," Eric responded in his native language.

"There is no other vampire I trust more. I beg of you," a pause distanced the words but strengthened the weird on his shoulders and in their bond, "do not disappoint me."

"I won't."

The dial tone signified that Godric had hung up, leaving Eric with his final promise. Shit, was the only word that could well explain his was much more interaction with his new sister than he had hoped he would have for years. True, he knew he would have to meet her eventually but under these circumstances? It was unbelievable. It was as if he became a guardian over night. This child...he would have to make sure no one knew of her arrival, he would have to keep her from the other vampires, he would have to keep her in sight always, and he would have to force her to bed each night. He swore after Pam he would never do this again! But this wasn't for him. It was for Godric. He had to do this for his Maker.

"Eric," it was Pam's voice that stired him from his thoughts and made his eyes jump from his desk to the door that she opened. She was never one for knocking. Instead of her signature smirk her mouth was still and in her eyes showed interest she could not hide from him. She placed on the desk a dvd that appeared to have no significance. Eric simply raised his brow in question and she answered, "It's Grand-Poppy and the Ward. Longshadow said it was worth a watch."

"We'll play it here," Eric said, with a tang of interest in his usually bored tone. He glanced over at Pam as he popped it into the dvd player under his desk for more information but her face showed nothing but excitement.

Instantly the images popped onto the screen and in color there was James, the king of New York, and Amie. Eric could hardly recognize her without the mud and dirt but alternately without it her appeal was much easier to identify. Godric did always love the finer things in life. On the screen Eric and Pam watched with growing eyes as a fight insued, a fight in which the new vampire was kicking ass. They didn't need to look at each other or speak the words. The same thought crossed their minds: What the fuck? It was common knowledge that James was over six hundred years old and it was knowledge to them that Amie was turned almost a week and a half ago...but how was she moving so quickly, how could she fight back? But the questions ceased when Godric entered the room and with one movement ripped off James' head, forcing him to meet the True Death. Eric had to admit he felt a sense of pride and nostalgia as he watched. It was something in Pam's reaction that caused these emotions to be stirred. For the past years Godric had handed out no fierce punishments and many of the new vampires had forgotten his past glory. But not anymore. His wonder would be forever documented in this video... But still. Something was off.

Eric rewound the tape to a move inparticular where Amie had pushed off the wall and forced James backward with the speed and strength of a vampire his age. He watched then in slower motion as she repeatedly beat his face in with her bare fist and the impact that it made, even before the tv was involved. In awe he leaned in slightly closer and asked, "Where did you get this?"

"Longshadow said he got it off the internet," Pam answered in a voice that lacked her usual sarcasm and arogance.

Eric smirked as he heard this and peaked at his progeny, "Is that fear I detect in your tone?"

Pam scoffs, "Hardly. As you know, I'm a lover not a fighter."

There was something in the way she said "lover" that caused Eric to feel the kind of stirrings he usually did when she instigated action. But he could not submit again. Their next encounter would be on his terms, not due to her hinting or prodding. Eric shut off the video and leaned back into his chair as he spoke, "Regardless. I want all circulation of the footage to cease. Have Longshadow destroy all physical copies while we destroy the photoage online. If humans catch wind we are attacking our own kind drainings are going to be the least of our worries."

"Yes, Eric," Pam answered. She was always ready to act when it involved her giving orders. She switched her weight from one foot to the other and folded her arms over her chest. This meant she had a question and she was going to ask it, "There's something different about this one, isn't there?"

Eric nodded weakly, not wanthing to put much emphasis on the nature of Amie and not wanting it in Pam's head that she could potentially be of value, "We all have our talents. Her's however requires the right kind of inspiration to show it."

"What are the rules?" she asked which came as a surprise to Eric. Pam never asked for rules. Regardless of them she would do what she wanted at whatever time.

"What you would expect. She will sleep no later than 3 A.M., she will not feed on human blood, she will have a TruBlood once in the morning and once in the evening, she will not speak to any other vampires during hours of business, and most importantly she will not leave my sight-not even for a moment," Eric recited the exact list of rules given to him by Godric in the same tone so that Pam could understand how serious each rule was.

"Judging from the video I doubt those are necessary," was Pam's only comment that added a swift roll of the eyes. Eric was surprised. With her beauty and her youth he had suspected Pam, like he, would find even the slightest bit of envy in the arrival of Amie but the answer was clear in her stance, in her face, in her outfit, in her heels. No one could take her confidence away. Pam, as well as every one else, knew she was beautiful and if anyone had a question they would learn. Pam sighed, the telltale sign she was bored again, and turned her attention to Eric, "I'm leaving."

Wait. There was something Eric needed to remind her.

"Oh, Pam," he called, causing her to wait against the open door, "Be nice."

"To the ward?" Pam asked in a tone that implied that his request was as ridiculous as it sounded. Eric never ordered her to be nice.

"Yes, to Amie. She is my sister now, I expect you to treat her with respect," Eric expanded, lifting up his feet onto the desk so that he may indulge in the next few quiet hours of his own.

"A baby vampi-"

"That is enough," Eric's tone changed at Pam's taunting and with, his fangs exposed he warned, "It is my order and you will follow it. If it comes to my attention that you made her cry you will be severly punished."

The anger was evident on her features but Eric did not care. These were orders specifically given by Godric and he would make sure they were followed. Through gritted teeth and her own exposed fangs she answered, "Fine."

"Shut the door on your way out," Eric said as he allowed his fangs to reenter his mouth. As expected, Pam slammed the door shut.

Eric attempted to relax but in his quiet meditation he could not help but to feel a sense of growing anxiety. He did not want to complete this task. He did not want a new child in his possession. He did not want to care for her tantrums and feed her TruBlood like a baby with its bottle. He was no good at these things. But then Godric's words echoed back to him and reminded him of why he was walking into what would no doubt be his doom.

_There is no other vampire I trust more. I beg of you, do not disappoint me._

Eric had no intention of disappointing him...but then again...Eric did have little patients. He looked back to the video and sighed to himself; he would not enjoy this visit. Unlike Godric, apparently, he did not easily swoon for large eyes and kind words. He would not make the same foolish mistake Godric did and kill for this girl. If she caused a problem she would learn here, if not anywhere else, how to handle her own mess. She wasn't going to get special treatment here, not in his establishment.

Eric glanced at his clock and sighed yet again as he pushed his long hair from his face. Goodbye fun, hello responsibility. But this would be interesting. At the very least he promised himself that.


	17. Chapter 17

I sit on the plane and look over the picture of Godric, unable to pull my eyes away from it. It's like he's really staring at me, staring into my eyes and waiting for me to say something and that thing I want to say is 'Please stay with me.' But I can't. I promised I wouldn't cry and now that I think about it I feel like I could never cry again. I smile a little as I touch my lips again. I can't believe he kissed me and the poem! That means he must have been awake and he must have heard me say it and that makes me blush brightly because I thought he was asleep.

Oh, Godric.

I close my eyes and lean backwards into the seat as I think of him. Wow. That kiss. I've never really been kissed before, except for the taps here and there and the ones the men would give me when they were so "thankful" for my service. But I never had any that were like his. I can't help but to wonder did he think of it too? Did this open up a whole new door to our relationship? I was just getting used to him hugging me all the time and now this! As horrible as these two days have been some wonderful things have been happening.

"Ohh, he's cute."

I look up quickly and see the flight attendant, Molly, standing over me to look at my picture of Godric. Instinctively I want to hold it against my chest because he's mine and no one else's but I realize she's trying to be nice. She looks about twenty-five which means he's too young for him...well in appearance anyway. I smile up at her and nod, extending the camera so she can see him better, "His name is Godric and he's the love of my life."

"How sweet," she giggles as she leans a little further down to look at the picture, "When did you two get together?"

Get together? What does that mean? When did we meet? When did he admit that he loved me? When did we become a cou-...wait...we haven't even become a couple. I begin to feel a slight sense of panic because we haven't DTRed yet! But as soon as the thought enters my mind I have to laugh, I know what he'd say or better yet I can imagine the look he'd give me. He would ignore the question, no doubt, but with much probing he'd say something like 'Our relationship is impossible to define. Boyfriend/girlfriend are terms that are insignificant to our kind.' But I have to answer, "Well...We 'met' about a week and a half ago but it wasn't until yesterday that he admitted that he loved me and today..."

I can't help but to cover my mouth as I think about it and my face gets all hot and embarresed because how can I explain it? How can I explain the kiss. She laughs softly and pats my shoulder, "The kiss? I saw that. I have to admit I've never seen anything so meaningful in my life. How is it the both of you never met before? Damien told me Godric's over two thousand years old."

I look up at her with slightly wider eyes, she doesn't know I'm new. She thinks I'm an older vampire like the others! Awesome! But I can't lie to her, "Well..I just turned into a vampire. Godric turned m-"

"How old are you?" she asks suddenly with concern and worry in her voice.

"Sixteen," I answer quietly because I can sense by the beating of her heart that she her adrenaline is pumping and she feels afraid? No concern! I have to defend Godric, "It isn't like that, you see Godric saved me! I had been taken from my home a-and they forced me and other girls to work and the other girls were forced to-to 'entertain' and they would hurt us and forced us to sleep in cells in the basement and we tried to escape but then they attacked us and shot at us and...and they killed everyone else and I tried to fight but I couldn't survive and just before I died Godric saved me and he didn't force me either! He asked me if I wanted to and I said yes."

I think back to him asking and I start to blush all over again and I think of the word.._lover_..and how I never thought it would come true. I hear her sigh heavily and for some reason I can feel her gaze all over my face and I know that she's sad and I start to feel a little sad too. Stan wasn't right, I should wait until I'm at least a hundred to tell my story. The lady takes a seat beside me and her warm hand suddenly touches mine and it's like all the sadness left in me because I still can't believe how crazy warm humans are! I smile up at her and she smiles too, "I know you're a vampire now and you can take care of yourself but I can't help but to worry about you. I have a daughter that's three now and you smile the same way she does."

"You have a daughter?" I ask in shock because she still looks so young!

She smiles with pride as she pulls a picture from her pocket. In the picture it's a little girl with curly blonde hair like mine but instead of my blue eyes her eyes are brown like pudding and she's smiling wide as she holds the neck of another man with the same kind of hair and eyes as her. I have to touch my lips because we do have the same smile, "Her name is MJ, short for Molly Jr. That's my husband Taggart. We always said what ever kids we have we're going to name them after us. They're the reason I said 'no' to Damien's offer."

"Damien asked if you wanted to be turned?" I ask, suddenly interested.

"Yeah. He said that he...he had grown feelings for me but I had to turn him down. If I were single and baby free that'd be another story but I'm a mama now and I have to put her first," she smiles as she takes the picture back and looks at it with so much love and so much joy I want to swim around in it. It's the kind of happiness only mother's can have...and even in my human life I couldn't have that. "Well, I guess I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? My name's Molly."

I grin happily and squeeze her hand lightly, like I'm shaking hands with an ant, and reply, "I'm Amiena, but you can call me, Amie. Can I take your picture?"

Instead of a yes or no I get a laughter that is so loud and frightening that on instanct I jerk backwards for fear that it might be an alarm of some sort. Instead I find that it is Molly that is slightly red in the face as her laughter stops and she points to herself, "Me? You want to take a picture of me?"

I nod my head, trying to hold in the laughter that comes once I realize that was her real laugh, "Yeah! My friend bought me this camera so I can remember my trip and she told me to take pictures of all my friends and since you're my first new friend I have to take a picture of you."

She smiles softly as she pulls her hand back, "You are something different, you know. I believe you are the nicest vampire I have ever met."

I blush lightly at that and look down. If she thinks I'm the nicest vampire then she hasn't met Godric. I lift up my camera a little, "Smile."

It's as if she has become a different person. She takes in a breath and smiles the biggest smile with her white, white teeth and she turns her head slightly as she puts her hand on her waist. She is so cool. I snap the picture and she grins, "Can I see?"

I show it to her and she frowns, "I look horrible."

For the first time in my vampire life I feel a wave of annoyance flow over me and I want to yell at her but I stop myself. It's not that she's stupid...it's that she's a girl. It's our curse to never feel beautiful no matter how amazing we look. I shake my head simply and look down at the photo, "I think you're the prettiest human I've ever seen."

A tangy kind of fragrance fills the air and I look to her and see that she's blushing. I made her blush! She touches my hand again and leans in to whisper, "Do you want to fly the plane?"

"What?!" I ask in amazement. Fly the plane! I don't know how to fly!

"Come on, Bob's the pilot and he's so nice. He lets all the kids do it," she urges, standing as she does to try and pull me up and I laugh to myself because I can see she's trying hard but it's no use.

"Fine," I huff like he's a big deal but really I'm super excited and I can't wait to do it. She pulls me along to the front of the plane but I can't even pay attention to where we're going because suddenly I'm focused on how crazy it feels to be walking. It's like I'm walking on air because I can feel through the materials of the plane and I can smell the air outside that is so fresh and so clean and part of me actually wants to jump out of the plane because I know I wont die. I make a mental note that one day I'll have to convince Godric to let me ride on top of the plane as it flies, even though I doubt he'll agree to it.

"Bob? Hey, this is Amie. We were wondering if you'd let her fly the plane tonight, just for a second," Molly says quietly like she's afraid he'll say 'no' and suddenly I'm afraid he'll say 'no' too.

"Sure! Come on in!"

Molly turns behind and winks at me before walking inside the small room and stepping aside so I can enter. Immediantly my mouth opens in aw because of all the buttons and all the stuff around and all the noise that it makes and the way the air feels here with everything jumping around! And looking out the window! The night is so dark but it's illuminated by the cities underneath the clouds! It's the most amazing sight!

I hear laughter from both Amie and Bob and I'm brought back to myself and I realize the whole time my head was moving around at crazy speeds so I can look at everything. I blush brightly and laugh a little too because it is really silly. They've probably been around vampires a whole lot and the ones that they've seen must have been like the vampires at the party, calm and cool and not so childish.

"Well, Amie, if I didn't know any better I'd think you've never been in the cockpit before," Bob chuckles as he presses some buttons and pulls off a headset.

I shake my head as I look at him, "I haven- Oh! Can I take a picture of you guys?!"

"Another one?!" Molly asks in a loud and excited way that makes me blush more. But then she laughs and nods her head, "Sure, here, this is my good side."

Bob puts the head seat back on and gives a thumbs up as Molly poses the same way she had last time. I can't help but to laugh, humans are so funny. I snap the photo and give them a thumbs up, "You guys look great!"

Molly laughs and reaches toward me, "Here, give me the camera. It's your turn."

I pull off the strap around my neck hand it over to her but I freeze...how do I smile? I remember smiling before when I was human but now my teeth and my jaw and my mouth has changed and I don't know how to do it anymore! I open my mouth and try to put my teeth together like before but that feels weird and uncomfortable. I try to switch it a little so that my top teeth go a little over my bottom ones but that doesn't feel comfortable either. I move to change it but before I can Molly takes the picture and I instantly know it's horrible.

"Beautiful!" Molly grins as she holds the camera against her.

"Now, we need the winning shot. Amie, do the honors," Bob says as he sits up from the seat. I gasp a little because he's not holding the controller but I relax because I don't feel a disturbance in the flight pattern which means the plane's probably on autopilot.

After I discover that fact I waste no time getting into the seat and I jump in. Wow! The view is amazing! It's like...it's like the world is mine! It's like there are no rules up here and it's like nothing can stop me and nothing can hold me down...it's amazing. I look up at Bob and Molly and grin, "This is so cool!"

"That's not the best part. Here put the headpiece on and strap yourself in. We want it to look like you're really flying, right?" Bob asks and I nod my head because I really do want it to look like I'm doing it. Quickly, I strap myself in and grab the controls without really disturbing the placing that they're in. I look at them tentatively but Molly gives me a thumbs up and Bob nods, "You look like a regular pilot."

"Really?" I ask, unable to stop myself from smiling and it's here that Molly takes the picture without me knowing! "Hey, I wasn't ready!"

Molly smirks, "I know, but I couldn't resist. And besides, people look the best when they're surprised."

I blush a little and think back to my picture of Godric. She sure was right. Bob pulls something from some compartment and hides it behind his back, "Speaking of surprises. Ms. Amie, I would like to formally promote you to pilot in training."

"What!" I shout as he hands me a gold pin with wings, "This is so awesome! This is so amazing! Thank you so much!"

He laughs softly and shakes his head, "No, thank you for not crashing the plane."

I roll my eyes playfully because silly him, it was on autopilot, there was no way I could crash it. Molly smiles and motions for me to come to her, "Now that we've had our fun I think it's time we give Bob a break. We're almost there!"

Almost there?

As I pull off the straps and the headset a sick feeling flows over me once the information settles in. We're almost there where Eric will be no doubt. Eric...Godric's _first_ child. What will he even look like? What will he be wearing? What will he say when he sees me? With each question that pops into my mind I feel my stomach churn and fill me with displeasure. I wish I had stayed home, by myself. That would have been much better.

"Amie, what's wrong?" Molly asks, making me look at her as I take my seat.

"I'm just nervous. I'm going to meet...," what do I call him? What is he to me? I suppose if Godric calls himself me his 'child' then he is my 'Father' and that would make Eric, "my brother for the first time and I don't know if he's going to like me."

"Why wouldn't he like you ? That's ridiculous! You're such a joy," Molly pats my hand again but this time the warmth of her skin doesn't comfort me completely, even though it still gives me a smile.

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do when I see him...," I sigh. Should I give him a hug? Should I not say anything at all and wait for him to speak? I don't know.

"You want to know what I thin-?"

"Yes!" I shout before she can even finish her sentence.

She gives me this smile that means she's amused but then she answers, "I think you should take a picture as soon as you get off the plane, to catch his reaction of you arriving, and then before you leave you should take a picture of him to see his reaction when you depart."

Hmm...Isabel did say I should document everything. I nod my head firmly, "I think that's a wonderful idea."

"Good. Now put on your seatbelt, we're landing," Molly warns as she begins to stand.

"Wait," I say quietly, still holding onto her hand. She pauses and looks to me with concern, "Can you stay with me?"

She smiles in a way that my mom used to smile when I asked her to sleep with me when I was afraid and she nods her head slowly, "Ofcourse I can."

We put on our seatbelts and she holds my hand again and I hold hers like I'm holding onto a butterfly's wing. Don't think about it...Don't think about it...I close my eyes and go back to the one memory that will give me comfort. Godric's lips, on my lips; Godric's whisper _I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart). _Oh, Godric...

The plane lands on the ground and Molly gives me a gentle squeeze of encouragement. I'm still so nervous and I feel like I can cry but I don't. I don't want his first sight of me to be in tears. I stand up from the seat and pick up my bag and that's when I remember my red sunglasses! I open it up and pull them out and with my eyes and hand I question if I should put them on. Molly gives me the thumbs up and I place them on face. There's something about these sunglasses that make me feel so cool.

I wait at the door but I don't look at Molly, Molly can't help me out now it's time for me to face this myself. I lift up the camera and close my eyes as the stairs descend, remembering the one thing that gives me so much pleasure.._.I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart). I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling). I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet). I want no world (for beautiful, you are my world, my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you. Here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than the soul can hope or the mind can hide), and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart. I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)._

The door opens and I hear chatter and before I look I rush down the stairs and snap the picture...and when I look at it I see the most frightening couple in my entire life. Slowly I look up and true as the picture they terrify me. The man is tall, a giant, with long blonde straight hair and eyes that are cold and blue. Beside him is a woman with the same blonde straight hair but longer and somehow her eyes are even colder. They both wear a similar leather jacket and a similar expression that says I am not welcomed...Godric what have you done to me?


	18. Chapter 18

Under their stare I feel like I was the Wicked Witch of the West and a bucket of water had been thrown on top of me. I feel like I'm slowly shrinking under their gaze and any second now they're just going to stomp on me like I'm some disgusting creature that shouldn't be breathing the same air that they are. If I wasn't so terrified I'd think it was actually hilarious that their expression hasn't changed a bit-but I am and after the continual tick of time I realize they aren't going to say anything because they're sharing some kind of mental bond that allows them to talk about me without saying a thing and by the slightest lift in the corner of their lips I can tell that they are very amused with themselves.

How this can be Godric's child is beyond me but still...I have to make friends. So I lift up my hand slowly and let it hang in the middle of us, in the middle of them, deciding that I better not try my luck on the woman because she looks just as menacing as the man. Slowly I cast my eyes up to switch between both of theirs-so ice cold and mean and evil and actually it's pretty weird that we all have blue eyes and when I think about it so does Godric! and that makes me think are we all related and is that our "thing?"-but I realize it's no use because their eyes are on my hand and their face is twisted to a blandness that masks the idea that I'm a joke. I drop my hand quickly and fold it behind my back as I quietly introduce myself, "I'm Amiena Smith."

For the first time they're eyes turn away from me and to each other like they're having their private conversation and they're trying to figure out how to respond. Eric is the first to peal away and for some reason the lady does not look happy as Eric looks over me at the plane-as if waiting for the real Amiena to come out-and then back into my eyes with a disinterested huff, "I am Eric Northman and this is my progeny Pamela Swynford De Beaufort."

"Charmed," she says without the slightest emotion but with a cool accent and with a roll of her eyes that happens at the same time as she folds her arms over her chest-something I HAVE to learn how to do.

"I'm certain Godric informed you that she will be assisting mostly in the matters of your well-being," he doesn't look me in my eyes anymore...like I don't deserve his eye contact anymore or something. Should I be offended by the fact that they already seem bored with me? Well...he is a Sheriff and he is a thousand years old but Damien is KING and he's a lot nicer to me than Eric is so far.

I decide, if anything, these vampires are like Stan and I have to prove myself to get their respect. But I can already tell that will be impossible. So I'll take their way out and look as disinterested as they do. I shrug my shoulders slightly as I shut off the camera around my neck and purse my lips to answer, "Nope. He didn't."

There's is a shift that I hear that is so unnoticable when I look at them they don't look any different despite Pam's furrowed brows that show she's aggrivated and her annoyed tone that she uses to answer, "That's no surprise. Grand-Pappy thinks I can't play well with others."

The way she says it-_Grand-Pappy_-fills me with a rage that surges through me and forces my eyes to her although I know her statement was meant as a warning. I can feel my muscles about to move into action-and I KNOW what they're going to do-but I'm surprised to see Eric has beaten it to me with a stare that even scares me as he orders, "That is enough, Pam. The both of you, come. It is almost dawn."

He opens the back door of the big black truck and gets inside which I find so weird because I'd expect these guys to have like..a big black tank instead! I glance briefly at Pam, waiting for her to get in but instead her eyes are on me and she smirks in the scariest way possible as she says in a nice and terrifying tone that means she's going to kill me, "After you."

I really dislike the idea of having her behind me but I can't be rude, so I climb inside and sit beside Eric who isn't even looking at me. I pull my backpack onto my lap as Pam gets in and shuts the door, sealing me in here with the two crazy vampires. The truck begins to move and that's when I realize...my luggage! I glance around but a guy in front-the guy driving that also has an accent and happens to be huge! although I can't see his face-answers, "Don't worry, Miss, you suitcases are followin'."

"Thank you," I smile because at least I know everyone here isn't completely crazy mean. Speaking of the meanies, I don't know if it's just me but I heard a very audible sigh from both of them. I already know they hate me and there's no chance this ride is going to be anything but awkward. I really wish Godric was here. If he was...oh if he was. I'd be holding his hand and I'd be curling up beside him and holding his arm inside of mine and maybe he'd kiss me again. How can that Godric be the leader of this family of cold beings?

I look at the cold beings and wonder what the age difference is because they both look around the same age. I also wonder if they're apart of the same..."human" family because they look oddly alike. Maybe it's just because of their years of companionship but they seem to be the same person, just a different version. They both stare straight ahead in the same bland manner and they both have the same outfit and the same mannerisms. They both even flip their hair away from their face in the same way at the same time! It's crazy how alike these two are and it makes me think...are me and Godric this alike?

I try to think back to the times we were together but of course these things are probably subconscious. Only Isabel would really know. Oh, Isabel. I look down at the camera she gave me. It's really actually fantastic. I look at the last picture, the picture of Eric and Pam, and can't help but to appreciate the quality of it. I look backwards at the picture of me flying the plane and grin at it, continuing to look through the pictures of my friends. I really wish I was with them still. Oh! Even more I wish I was with Molly and her family! Her and Taggart and MJ! I bet they'd be so fun all together, I haven't seen a baby in forever. I wonder how that would feel now...to hold a baby as a vampire. I'd have to practice holding puppies first...oh...my puppies...

The truck comes to a stop just as I'm about to start crying and I'm surprised by the fact that the tears don't come. Maybe...I'm growing! Maybe my crazy horomones are cooling down! Maybe the next time I see Godric I'll be the princess he really deserves. That'll be great. The door opens and Pam is gone. I squint my eyes slightly to look for her but before I can see where she is a I can hear the shift in leather that means Eric is waiting. Ugh. He's the real princess. I rush out of the car and stand off to the side where I see the guy that opened the door and WOW he is handsome. He holds the door open and stands so tall, I think as tall as Eric, but with such broad shoulders like Stan and with curly hair and a beard and he smells so weird and looks so nice! I snap a picture of him and before he can be confused I grin, "I'm Amiena!"

He rubs his eyes as he replies, "Alcide."

"Nice to meet yo-"

"Enough."

Eric's voice is strong and cuts my off but I'm not afraid. He wasn't loud, in fact he sounded tired and annoyed. He didn't scream at me but there was an authority that I have to respect, even if Godric didn't tell me to listen to him. There's a promise somewhere that if he isn't respected he can make like very difficult. And I don't want that.

"You are dismissed," Eric says before turning around and walking up to the large...what is it? It doesn't look like a house or a 'home.' It looks like an old estate or...what's the word I'm looking for...plantation! Oh...plantation. I can just imagine them having humans working in the backyard digging holes as they sit on one of the millions of balconies that line all the windows together and laugh. Ugh, the idea gives me chills and as I follow them up the walk way I secretly scan around to make sure there aren't any crazy holes I can fall into.

But the closer we get the less I focus on the grounds and the more I focus on the actual house. It's white and styled in a Victorian way, I think that's the term my dad used for houses like these, and the way the door is arched makes it look like a large mouth we are walking into. I'm 100% positve this house gets skipped for Halloween. Pam opens the doors, both large doors at once, like a saloon and reveals the true beauty of the inside! I step into it with open eyes and can't help but to look in surprise! A large staircase, made out of marble or granite or some weird material, meets us like a carpet and above it, giving light to everything, is a large golden chandelier that looks like it must be transported from some other era! And actually, once I notice the chandelier I notice everything is trimmed in gold but the more I notice the more I see that everything gets darker...From this one point that I stand in under the light...up the stairs...through the random doorways...everything else gets dark hue and I become really scared. This house is just like Pam and Eric: beautiful and intriguing at first glance but frightening and deadly all the way down at it's core.

I want to go home.

"Now that we are here I will inform you that there will be changes to your schedule."

I turn around to focus on Eric who stands as tall as every pillar in the house beside Pam who's joy shines as bright as every bulb. In a quiet voice I ask, "Changes?"

"From now on you will feed yourself; you are not an infant. You will sleep in your coffin when we deman and you will awake upon our request. You may explore our nest but you will not touch or take anything, the same rule applies for _Fangtasia_ where you will begin work as a waitress. While there you will take the order of customers and bring them their drinks. That is all. You will not speak unless spoken to and you will NOT acquaintant yourself with lesser beings. You are a child of Godric and I suggest you begin acting like it," Eric's eyes burn deeper into me with each command and I feel my insides twisting and burning like I'm going to snap but for some reason I don't act and I don't look away and I don't do anything but stand and listen. I think he's done but then Pam does a little wieght shift and roll of her eyes and he continues, "You will take direct order from me and when I am not present from Pam, however, one rule is always in effect. You will not leave our sight even if you are not directly in it. Every hour Pam will report to me your actions unless I have interacted with you myself. That order comes directly from Godric. He put you in my charge and I will not let him down. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

The word comes out like a whisper because the fire inside of my stomach has made my voice dry. I hate it here. I want to go home. I want to go home right now. I can't take it. I want to leave or sleep until Godric can come and get me.

"Good. Now, Pam," his entire attention to her and I feel at least a little better that he's not being specifically mean to me and that he gives orders in the same way to even her, "Escort her to her chamber and get her ready to retire for the morning. I will meet you both at the coffins."

Coffins? This must be a joke! Pam nods her head, her arms folded over her chest, and walks past me to the stairs. She cocks her head back slightly and calls, "Follow me, Little Bo Peep."

I hate this place. I follow her up the stairs but I don't explore anymore. I don't want to know this house, I hate it too much, but with my eyes down I notice her shoes...Wow...is it just me or do all vampire women have the most ridiculous foot wear. It's amazing how she can walk in those, especially since she leads me through this crazy maze of corridors and to a random room that looks like it was once used for storage. I open the door and notice instantly it smells like it hasn't been used in forever. It's large and the bed takes up most of the room! It's large and round like the ones you see in the movies and there's an odd gold head board that has a design that might be two hearts or two people kissing or killing each other. I glance around again and see the entire color scheme is crimson, red, gold, and black and just like the head board I don't know if this is used to scare people or...arouse them.

My eyes jump to a door that I assume to be the closet. I walk toward it and am surpirsed when Pam speaks, "Your clothes have all arrived and wait for you in the closet. Their arranged according to color and style."

I think back to my room at home with all the pretty dresses and I start to feel a little more comfort. At least some things are getting better. I walk to the closet and open the door, amazed that instantly the light turns on but devistated when I see the truth of what is before me. I turn around to face her in open shock, "None of these clothes are mine!"

She's looking down at her manicured nails as she answers absentmindedly, "They are now. I did you a favor and remodeled your wardrobe. I can't have you walking around Area 5 dressed like that. Eric and I have a reputation to uphold."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I ask, looking down at myself but before I know it Pam is standing right in front of me.

"Listen here, Sweet Pea, you're not in Texas anymore. I know Eric gave you the run down but here are some rules that are going to keep you alive. Stop asking questions, they get annoying fast. Don't annoy me," Oh no, " you don't want to get on my bad side. Stop batting your big blue eyes, good girls get ruined fast around these parts. And most importantly, don't fuck with Eric. I know you're Godric's child and despite what he may say you are not special. If you pull that 'Daddy loves me more' shit on him I will break you in half," the tears, " are we clear?"

"Yes."

It's a mangled version of the word because I'm trying to hard not to cry and my throat is so dry and my lip is all wobbling and I miss Godric so much and their so mean to me and I can't stop myself from crying anymore! I try to wipe my face clean but the tears keep coming and keep coming and soon they don't stop and I'm so embarresed because I can hear the way her lashes bat and I know she's already annoyed and I don't know how to stop! Especially when she huffs, "Are you shitting me?"

"I know you don't want me to be here but I don't want to be here either!" I can't help but to shout through my tears and I open my eyes to shout again but suddenly her hand is on my mouth and the other is hold my head against it and I'm about to push her away but then I see a pure panic in her eyes that slows me down and makes me calm a little and then suddenly I start laughing because wow she looks scared!

"You think this is funny? If Eric finds out I made you cry already he's going to have my ass on a _silver_ platter," she hisses but I can't help but to laugh because in reality she's just like me. She's a child of a strong vampire stuck following the same rules. She's not so tough and now I have something over her.

She loosens her grip on me and I wipe my eyes on my shirt, trying to stop my laughing because I don't want to get her annoyed. But I take this time to address a certain issue, "I'm sorry for crying and for laughing but I don't think I'm special. I know Godric loves Eric more than he loves me but I love Godric so much that I'm happy if he loves me even a little. And I'm just going to have to survive with the conditions. Like being here. It was his idea. I don't want to bother you or Eric. I wanted to wait like a hundred years to meet Eric because I don't want him to think Godric made a mistake in turning me because I cry all the time. I just want this time to go by as fast as possible so I can go home to Godric and I don't want to get in trouble for breaking any rules. So lets make a deal...I'll follow your rules if you're just a little but nicer to me. Sound good?"

"I'm not nice," Pam says in her usual tone and it's like the scared Pam was never here. I'm just about to give up when a little smile forms on her lips, tiny tiny, and she adds, "But I'll try. Your jammies are in the top shelf over there. I'll be back in a minute."

She's gone suddenly and I take this time to take in big deep breaths of air. Wow! I can't believe I did that! Wow! Now she's my..well...not my friend but I guess...my...partner in crime? No, not that. Now we have an understanding! That's it! I can't believe it, I think as I walk to the drawer, I took charge! But suddenly my excitement drops from a 10 to a 1. My jammies are long pants and a big shirt with monkeys printed on them...I think they think I'm twelve. I wish I was home. I change into the jammies and look at myself in one of the many mirrors in the room. I look like I'm twelve. I pick up my camera and take a picture of myself in the mirror. Isabel would love to see this.

"Knock, Knock."

I turn around and there Pam is with...wow! Her hair is all done in a nice wavey manner and she's wearing a nice robe that looks like it's made out of satin and is purple with nice golden flowers on it, "That's a nice robe."

She smirks, "I know. I've had it for a while. Come on. Eric is waiting."

She turns around without a word and follow her, in and around and through the corridors and down random flights of stairs and secret passage ways until finally we're in a room with three coffins. The room is dark in color scheme and the lights are dim and a yawn escapes my mouth that I don't mean to. I look up and see Eric in another purple robe looking at me in a curious manner like he's studying my face and it reminds me so much of Godric and then I realize he's seeing if I was crying! I look down at the coffins and ask, "Which one's mine?"

Eric points to one that's slightly far off away from the other two, "You will sleep there and will not awaken until Pam or I have called for you."

Just when things were starting to look up we're back to the meaness again. I nod my head and walk to the coffin...How do I even get in? I look behind me and see Pam and Eric-Pam in a nice lavender night gown and Eric in playboy type satin pajamas-climbing into their coffin so I do the same and once I get in I realize why they sleep in here! The thing is so comfortable! I shut the top of it and everything is dark and I feel like I'm back in the ground with Godric's arms around me and I feel so peaceful...and so...cozy..and...so tired...and so...sleepy. Goodnight...Godric.


	19. Chapter 19

In my dream I'm standing in a room...well...not a room. I'm standing in some kind of black space that has no light or no texture and I'm alone. But I'm not afraid because it's not dark, I can still see. I look down at myself and I'm naked and covered in red stuff like tears or blood or human blood, I don't know which, and I look so gross I have to look away and when I do Godric is standing right in front of me. My heart LEAPS out of my chest because I can't believe it! I miss him so much! And he's smiling this...weird truly happy smile I've never seen before and he reaches for my hand but suddenly he's on fire and I start to cry out but my voice is stuck in my throat and the fire spreads all over him but he's not burning-he's _melting._ His skin, his hair, his eyes, his lips, everything melts completely off until he's just bones and I'm so scared that I'm shaking but then I see inside of his chest is a heart fully intact and beating. I reach out to touch it but as soon as my hand reaches the heart my skin and flesh melt off of me like a leggo building kicked away. I start to shake all over and the scary part is I can hear myself rattling but suddenly I feel a boney hand take mine and I look to see Godric's bones before me and pulling me against him. I try to walk but I trip over my feet and I fall forward and he falls backwards and I'm terrified we're going to shatter but instead my ribs get lodged in his spine and our chest is one chest and we can't get out but the crazy thing is...the heart is still beating...and I can feel it like it's beating in my chest...like our chest is one. I look up at Godric and he looks down at me and his boney hand touches my skull and I know it's okay. The beating in my chest tells me it's fine. It's all going to be fine.

That is until I hear knock, knock, knock like someone's trying to get into my brain. I look up at the blackness and hear it again: knock knock knock. And with each knock dust particles cascade down on my skeletal form and sends me shivering back into Godric's arms but suddenly I see that he's not here and I'm alone but still there's the heart in my chest that beats loud and fills up every space. Knock, knock, knock and then there's a light like someone opened a latch in my forehead and it's a harsh light because my eyes are only adjusted to the darkness and I hear loud whispers like giants are talking and I try to lower my face from the light but the talking keeps on and the more it does the clearer it gets and I can hear it's a different language but among the language there are two voices, male and female, and I start to distinguish them. It's Eric and Pam and they're trying to wake me up.

My eyes flash open and as they do Pam's sentence is haulted. They're staring at me like I'm a dead body and they're a couple that has stumbled onto my lonely wake. They stare at me with curiosity like I'm some side show attraction and I'm about to yell at them to look away when I realize that my cheeks have the familiar itch that I hate so much. I sit up in the coffin and wipe my face away, I was crying. They step back and give me time to get out and once I'm out I'm given the first order of the day by Pam, "Get dressed. _Fangtasia _opens in an hour and a half."

"Okay," I mumble as I begin to walk away. Maybe in my room I'll get some privacy and I can cry out all of my annoyance with my brother and...my niece? A chill runs down my spine at the thought. Vampire families are so weird.

"Hold on," Eric says in his voice that uses no force and requires all kinds of action. I stop mid-stride and turn around to look up at him towering over me. In his hand is a cell phone that lays balanced on his palm and confuses me...am I supposed to grab it? Thankfully though, he explains, "Godric wants a call."

Godric!

I grab the phone and rush to my room with it against my chest because I forgot I could call him! I'm going to talk for hours and hours! Oh! Just to hear his voice! I flop down on my bed and find his number amongst many and call it instantly, pressing the phone to my ear. I can't help but to smile and twist and turn in my bed as I clutch my heart with my free hand, imaging that I could feel the heart beating right in there still. Ring, Ring, Ring! Answer the phone!

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"Hell-"

"Godric!" I shout and instantly burst into loud sobs because upon hearing his voice the floodgates have opened and all my lonliness is spilling out into my body, "I miss you so much! I hate it here! I miss you! Tell me where you are! I'll run to you right now because I can't take one more second! I'm trying to be a big girl but you were in my dream again and I don't like dreaming about you unless you're there when I wake up and you're not! I'm so sorry for what I did, Godric! I'll go and apologize to the Magister! I just can't live anothger second without you! Please take me home! Please come rescue me! I miss you s-"

"Amie," his voice is a soft current that spreads through my spine and turns me into a small puddle of water. I'm back to my senses now, in time to listen to his voice, "Tell me of your dream."

"Well...I was in a big place that was all black and it wasn't a room because there were no walls or anything and I was alone but it wasn't dark so it wasn't that bad and then there you were! And you were smiling and I was so happy to see you but suddenly you bursted into flames and all your skin began to melt and I was so scared and so sad but I couldn't help! And then when everything melted you were just a skeleton but you were still happy because, Godric, inside your chest was a heart and it was beating! I was so surprised and I went to touch it but as soon as I did I melted too and I was a skeleton and I was so so confused and then you touched my hand and I tripped and I fell on you and when I did our chest bones got stuck in each other and the heart filled both of us and beat in both of us and it felt so good but then Pam and Eric woke me up and turned my dream into a real nightmare and now I'm here and I'm calling you," I explain as slowly as possible. I have to admit that it wasn't slow at all but I can't help it! I'm so excited!

As he speaks I shut my eyes and turn on my side because if I do it's like he's laying right next to me and talking to me here, "That does sound frightening. Have you been harmed in any manner?"

Any manner? I think of Eric and Pam and how constantly mean they are...does that count as harm? No. I can't tell him about that. I made that promise with Pam and if I tell Godric that they're mean, in nature, then she's going to think I'm trying to...mess with Eric. I sigh, giving up, "No. I just miss you so much."

"As do I. I will return to you as soon as the trials are com-"

"Trials?!" I shout in fear. How many people get to decide poor Godric's fate?

"Not all mine. Many vampires find it difficult to uphold the law and until all before me are dealt with I must wait until it is my turn to hold audience with the Magister. We estimate it will be three days before our time will arrive," Godric's voice is calm and still and I feel so angry because he doesn't sound sad at all but then I remember what he's trying to do. He's trying to be strong for me as he delievers this horrible news. Three days to meet with him? And then who knows how long it will take before the verdict is made! "Amie?"

"Three days? But Godric...I...," I can't finish talking. I hide my face in the bed, not worrying about staining it because it's the same color red as my tears. I want him. I want his arms around me and I want him in front of me and I want him with me, forever!

"As do I," he repeats in the softest whisper filled with longing and despair like he knows how I feel and feels it exactly himself. This isn't fair. But suddenly he does something strange that I wouldn't in a million years expect him to. He sighs and in the nice, gentle voice I love so much he begins, "Amie...'I would live in your love..as the sea-grasses live in the sea, borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes; I would empty my soul of the dreams..that have gathered in me, I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul..as it leads.'"

Sara Teasdale.

I'm transported back to the night he read every book of poetry and as he read that one I shut my eyes and imagined how I would feel if he meant it just for me. I couldn't put a finger on it then because now it feels like my eyes have melted into my cheeks and my heart has melted into my chest. I feel warm all over like his arms are hear and present and never leaving. I feel so wonderful as I listen to him breathe. And I know he feels like I'm with him too.

"Godric," saying his name sends a shiver through me because I think back to the last time I had called his name and he turned to me and whispered a poem and kissed me on the mouth. The kiss, "'Before you kissed me...only winds of heaven had kissed me, and the tenderness of rain...now you have come, how can I care for kisses like theirs again? I sought the sea, she sent her winds to meet me. They surged about me singing of the south-I turned my head away to keep still holy your kiss..upon my mouth. And swift sweet rains of shining April weather found not my lips where living kisses are; I bowed by head lest they put out te glory as rain puts out a star...I am my love's and he is mine forever, sealed with a seal and safe forevermore-think you that I could let a beggar enter where a king stood before?'"

I feel it inside of me. His heart in my heart, stirring so much it feels like it could almost beat. I hear his lips press against the reciever as if it were my lips and I turn my face in the same manner as if to kiss him back. But he's not here and our lips don't meet. He sighs and it's like I can almost feel it fall across my face, "We will speak tomorow."

"I love you," I quickly spit out before he can hang up the phone but I hear how hollow it sounds, as if it's just something I want to get out. So softly, in a calmer tone, allowing everything to spill into it I repeat, "I love you."

"I love you too," is all I hear, and then a dial tone. I groan and shut my eyes, turning in on myself to get back what's left of the warm moment I had felt before.

"Knock, knock."

It's Pam. I roll over onto my back and see that she's leaning against the door frame dressed so magnificently I can't believe it. Her hair is in curls and tangles at a loose bun at the back of her head and her make up is pink and brilliant while her dress is black with big shoulder pads like rectangles. The material is dark, opposite of sparkly as it absorbs the light and gives none off. Her belt is loose and hangs on her hip and is a gold that matches her shoes and her bracelets and her necklace that hands low where the cut should be. She looks wonderful.

"I see you're not dressed yet," she observes with her brow arched. She purses her lips slightly, "Good thing too; I like to coordinate."

She walks into my room and opens the door to the closet and it's then that I notice her missing cut is in the back! Wow, it's a deep plunge and it exposes her shoulder blades but stays tasteful, before it reaches her...backside. She begins poking around the clothes and pulling some things out but I just have to ask, "Why do you have such a deep plunge in the back?"

"The sexiest part of a woman's body is her back," she explains like she's giving me a brief lesson, "Just little tips that keep men...interested...Here. I've got it."

She comes back holding a black dress on her arm along with a pair of heels. I shake my head quickly, "No..I...I can't wear heels."

She tilts her head toward me, "You've obviously never tried. I understand you belong to Godric, he is you Maker, so I wont pretty you up. But we do not wear flats or sneakers. We wear heals. Now be a doll and stand up."

I have to oblige. I stand up on my feet and reach for the dress in her hands. She holds it against her with a little smirk. Does she want me to change in front of her? I roll my eyes and snatch the dress from her grip. I'm not going to do that. I rush into the closet and change into the dress that is...really tight. I look at myself and am at least thankful there are no deep plunges, in the front or back, and the skirt doesn't go to the ground like Pam's but instead to my knees. I walk out and say, "This is really tight."

"That's the point. Now here, slip these on," she commands as she hands me the pair of heels. I put them down with a sigh, not looking forward to trying them on, but I have to. I step into the heels that are black instead of gold but still have the same shape as Pam's and to my surprise...they don't really hurt. I take a step forward, feeling like I'm six inches taller, and find it doesn't bother at all, "See. No trouble. Let's see what we can do about that hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?" I ask, touching it with a little frown.

"Do you really want me to answer," she smirks, guiding me to a seat in front of the large vanity mirror. She stands behind me and in two movements gets my hair in a loose bun much like her own. I can't help but to smile because we look almost alike with our eyes and our hair and our outfit and we actually do look like family especially since she's smiling a little too, "There. The face a man would spend thousands on."

Spend thousands on...I wonder if they did. I catch her eyes in the mirror but they're far away. She's looking at herself in a way that seems nostalgic and by the way her features turn sullen I can't help but to wonder if somewhere in her dark past men had to bid on her. I wonder how old she is and I wonder if she thinks she was wasted away. I was lucky enough to not have been...touched...that way but with her personality as evidence I wonder if something awful had happened to her and her looks are her only source of comfort. I wonder if she's thinking about when she was my age. Maybe she wishes Eric had turned her then. Maybe she would be like me if she did. And how did they meet? They're darkness is so alike I wonder at which stage did he leave Godric and find a progeny to call his own. I want to ask these questions but I don't want to sound rude; I don't want to get on her bad side. So instead I add onto her last comment, "Just like my niece."

"Moments gone," she snaps with a roll of her eyes. She pulls away and I try not to furrow my brows as I stand to meet her but she begins huffing and puffing, "I am not your niece. I am over a hundred years your elder and you will act as such. Now come. Eric is waiting for us."

I grab my bag and camera before following her out the door. I guess vampires take 'power' and 'age' very seriously. Over a hundred years she says...that means she's like...the youngest vampire I've ever met! I can't help but to grin a little at the thought. It doesn't mean anything but it's still funny to think about. We make it all the way down stairs and there Eric is wearing the same black and gold color scheme as Pam. I take it she dresses everyone. He looks me over briefly and I feel uncomfortable and naked under his gaze and I want Godric to yell at him but then he asks, "What's in the bag?"

"Nothing," I answer honestly. It's just air for now.

"Then why are you bringing it?" he looks secretly annoyed as he reaches his hand out for his cell phone.

I return it, trying not to scowl, "Maybe I'll find something to put in it while we're out."

"And the camera?" he motions to it with his eyes, staying statue still with the phone in hand which must be something he has perfected to make the people he talks to feel like 'lesser-beings.'

"Isabel told me to take pictures of my new friends," I answer, not looking at him because as far as we're concerned we are not friends yet and it's all because of him.

I hear a slight chuckle that comes from either him or Pam and in his mean voice he says, "Well. I sincerely hope you don't return empty-handed."

Jerk.

He and Pam walk out of the doors and I follow them, not intentionally lagging behind but deciding I might as well if they're going to be so tall and fast. There's another truck, bigger this time but still black, that waits for us but instead of Alcide holding the door it's someone else that doesn't look as friendly. Eric gets into the backseat followed by me and Pam and I have the strangest sensation that this night has only just begin and is only going to get worse and worse.

The truck stops after what feels like half an hour in front of a place I don't really focus on because instead I'm focusing on getting out before Eric starts to huff and puff. I look up at the guy holding open the door but he doesn't even meet my eye. I'm almost certain Eric has something to do with this guys lack of being friendly. The truck rolls away and in front of me is a large empty parking lot that looks ready to be filled but I smell something else. The air is different, not like Texas. The air smells wild and uncontained as if there's so much to be explored and I'm the only one that can do it. Hello Louisiana, I am your new friend.

"Amiena," it's Eric's voice that has come to ruin the fun. I slowly turn around and find my eyes nearly popping out of my skull, "Welcome to _Fangtasia."_

_Fangtasia_: a commercialized torture chamber. My sensation has become reality. This place is going to eat me alive.


	20. Chapter 20

They explained to me the rules of _Fangtasia_ as I gazed around the horrible place that looked too familiar and drank my TruBlood that wasn't as sweet as Godric's no matter how much sugar Longshadow put into it.

The rules were:

1) No talking with customers (Vampire or other species). They give you the order and you bring it to them.

-Talking includes revealing:

-Your name

-Your Maker

-Where you are from

-Who you know

-How old you are

-Your likes/dislikes

-Your weaknesses

-Your history

-In short, any information.

2) No crying.

3) No sex.

-kissing

-touching

-grinding

-flirting

4) No dancing.

-unless with Pam

5) No fighting.

6) No hiding and/or running away.

7) No blood drinking (inside the establishment, outside is another story).

8) No making friends.

-Which means:

-no taking pictures.

When they were finished with the rules and were satisfied with my watering eyes they went to some back office and left me on my lonely bar stool to sit in gloom. This place was literaly a prison. Sure it was better than the old place, sure I was a vampire, sure I had talked to Godric today, but I wasn't free. I look at the door I had come through and imagine what was out there, the odd smelling air. There was so much to explore and here I was confined to the side of my brother and ne-...his child. Was that even a good word for her? She didn't really act like his child but to be fair I'm not really sure what a child is supposed to act like. They're my only other example of a Maker/Child relationship and so far it's confusing. There is Damien and his Joli but I didn't really get to see them together but anyway Pam and Eric are so weird. The way they look at each other and just _act_ together like they're conjoined at the hip or something. Then again when I'm with Godric I feel the same way like being apart would suddenly destroy me...like I feel now. But they don't show that same kind of attachment. They both look so...independant like they don't even need each other and they aren't affectionate at all and they don't even hug or kiss but they look at each other from time to time at random words or comments with a smirk or an eyebrow raise like they have their own little language that's far more intimate than I can imagine which leads me to believe they must have...done _something_ or had something at least once and maybe their hundred years together made them bored of each other and thinking about that terrifies me because what if Godric gets bored with me and wants to see other people! I think I would die! Oh no! I'm going to start crying! I'm already breaking rule number two!

"Oh!"

I snap my head in the direction of the culprit that made the noise and to my surprise there's a skinny human not more than five feet away from me.

She puts her hand to her chest and gives a little laugh, "You scared me half to death!"

My eyes narrow as I look over her, she doesn't smell like a human. How did I not notice her? Her heart beat is so thin and faint I thought it was the hum of the air conditioning kicking in, which was hardly noticable, or even the hum of the fridge holding the cool beers. She has no scent at all and now that I look at her it scares me to see that she looks so old and more than old she looks whithered away as if the vampires here have sucked her dry. I'm disgusted-not by her but by what must have happened to her.

"Names Ginger. Are you the new waitress?" she asks in a cute little Southern accent as she plops down her huge purse on the counter top.

"Um..." Oh no. Eric said no talking to customers but obviously she isn't a customer if she's here well over half an hour before the actual place opened but how do I even answer that question? New waitress? "I'm Amie. New waitress?"

"Yup," she pop's her 'p's with her lips as she searched through her bag and spoke absentmindedly, "The other one...I think her name was Lisa or something, another vampire and quiet a bitch if I can be honest, just up and vanished last week and from what I hear, don't tell anyone I'm telling you this, she was taken."

"Taken?"

"Yup. Ever since that Vampire Bill killed the Rattrays a new group of dealrs are movin' in. I think my ex-boyfriend Castel might be in them, real scumbag, I think the point they're making is all his idea. And a good one at that. I've never seen the double-mint twins so terrified," she takes a second from her searching and laughs softly as she shakes her head, "Double-mint twins. Don't tell 'em I called 'em that."

"I-I won't," I whisper as I look beyond her and to the room the 'double-mint twins' went in. Vampires are getting taken? By...dealers? But that doesn't make any sense? Who's vampire Bill? What do drug dealers want with vampires? Who are the Rattrays? Who is Castel? Why did Vampire Bill kill them? Why did she call him Vampire Bill? Why am I calling him Vampire Bill? It kind of has a ring to it...Wait. Is this why Eric has so many rules? Does Godric know about this? How many other vampires have disappeared? Where have they gone? Maybe Eric does like me! Maybe he just doesn't want me to get hurt! Aw, Eric! But wait...get hurt. Are these vampires ever showing up? Eric and Pam terrified? I open my mouth to ask Ginger but she cuts me off.

"Good. There's a visitor coming, someone old vampire and she's not supposed to know about any of this and I'm not supposed to talk to her. Longshadow showed me a video and she kicked the shit out of some other vampire that was attacking her and I couldn't understand it but he gave me like a million play-by-plays and ended it with she's stronger than she should be. Yeah, she's supposed to be really fancy. Said her name's Amien- Shit!" she shouts, half-way through putting on her lip balm. She looks at me with narrowed brows and scared little eyes, "You Amiena Smith?"

"Yes...," I answer tentatively.

"Shit on a stick!" she hisses as she grabs her purse in her arms, "I'm not supposed to talk to you! Shit! I said too much! This conversation never happened!"

All I can do is watch as she storms away in her too-high-heels and her hot pants but then I think..wait. That was my first friend in _Fangtasia!_ I have to get a picture! I run after her and stop in front so I can tell her but all I succeed in doing her is scaring her again, this time so bad she drops her bag on the floor. I rush down and pick up all the items and the bag before she even makes it half-way down and hand it to her, "Hi, Ginger, I know we're not supposed to talk and you could get in a lot of trouble but the thing is I'm taking a vacation here and it's really hard to make friends with Eric and Pam scaring everyone away and you're my first friend here and even though you're human and I'm not supposed to be nice to humans I really like you because you're really nice and I was wondering if I could take your picture so I could remember you. Can I please?"

Unfortunately, she looks like she was just hit by a tornado and when I think about it...she kind of was. Wow...I have to stop talking so fast! I open my mouth to reexplain everything in a slower tone but she cuts me off again with a big grin, "You know what, screw it. Hell yeah! You're the nicest vampire I ever met. Even Longshadow took some warming up to and you know what, I might die any second here so I need someone to remember me. Here, this is my good side."

She turned to the right, showing her left side as she put her hand on her hip and bucked it up like she was a little pin up doll. I couldn't help but to laugh at this because it reminded me of Molly and thinking about it...humans are so silly! I took the picture with one hand and handed her the purse back with the other. Why did humans have to pose so much, why couldn't they just accept their natural beauty without having to doll up? I shook my head as I looked at the picture, "Absolutely beautiful."

Ginger blushes, very faintly-in faintly I don't smell a thing but I'm assuming she's blushing because of how she smiles-as she nods, "Well aren't you the sweetest thing. I can see why they don't want me to talk to you. They want to keep you all to themselves!"

She taps my noise with her index finger before storming off on her little mission to whatever work she does here, leaving me all by myself. But now that I'm alone her little happy fast-talking joy isn't here to distract me and I'm back to thinking about how restricted this place is. Yeah, now that I know there's bad stuff happening out there I can kind of understand why it is but why can't Ginger talk to me? Honestly! She couldn't hurt a fly! Even if she tried! I could take her in less than a second! And then I think of something else...Longshadow showed her a video of me and James? But h- the security tape. How did that get all the way over here? How many other people saw the tape? How much trouble does that mean we're in?

I sigh heavily as I go back through all my pictures to my first. I wish Godric was here or I wish I was with him where ever he was. Thinking of him and my lonliness makes me feel like I'm going to cry again because this is so unbearable! I close my eyes and think about him with his arms around me and him telling me he loves me and the poems and stuff and his kiss on my lips and on my forehead and our dancing and the first time I ever saw him as a human and a vampire and I think of every little one of our moments and how if I knew this was going to happen and we'd be apart I would have never left him that stupid night alone and I would have just caved in and spent my time with him. I peak my eyes open again to look at the picture. It's like he's really here and staring at me, warning me to be brave and not to cry. But how can I not? Does he even feel the same? He has to...at the very least he has to feel how miserable I am and how mean Eric and Pam are. Just when I start to warm up to them they find their horrible joy in reminding me of how cruel they can be. But then again...it's for the best. They don't want me to get taken like the other vampires and they want me to be safe, they can't be that bad.

The door to the back room creaks like it's going to open so I rush back to my stool and take up drinking my TruBlood as if I never moved a muscle. Pam and Eric walk out speaking in that weird language that I'm pretty sure they made up so they could talk about me. The way they look talking you'd think they were a married couple but I know they're something a whole lot stronger. Pam is the first to break her attention and look to me with her not genuinly happy but thrilled by the idea kind of smile as she comments, "Looks like I lost the bet."

"What bet?" I can't help but to ask.

"It's nothing important," Eric says dismissively as he beckons me with a humiliating wave of his finger. I stand up from my spot and follow him as he walks through the empty establishment to a stage like area with a king-like throne on it. I was meaning to ask what that was. "What is of importance is the schedule for this evening. The first hour you will stand at my side, staying out of Pam's way as she informs the others that will be arriving shortly of your situation."

Situation? He makes it sound like...I had an 'accident' or like I'm mentaly incompetent or something. But I hold my tongue. I know talking at this point will only get me into trouble.

He takes a seat on his throne, making sure to get comfortable, as I'm sure he always does, looking down on everyone else. He motions with his head for me to join him at his side and I step onto the stage and from the short second of evaluating I can tell I'm supposed to stand beside him and look mean, just as I'm sure Pam does. He continues to not look at me as he takes up talking again, "You are here so that you may learn how to handle yourself amongst other species. Vampires are the highest class of beings, never forget that. While at my side your job is to say nothing and do nothing. Understood?"

"Yup," I say, managing to get the pop just like Ginger's which I find very cool because I used to never be good at imitating voices.

"What was that?" Eric hisses as he turns to face me but before I can answer the doors open and in walks in a line vampires and humans with black make up and big bags. Their eyes instantly look up to me and I can tell that they're sizing me up, doing the dog thing and looking for power, so I try on my best impression of Pam and put my hand on my hip and lean my arm on the back of Eric's throne. I must be pretty convincing because Eric turns away from me and Pam makes an approving gesture before turning to the employees that have already turned away.

"Listen here. I want a pristine performance tonight, that means no fuck ups. If I hear one glass shatter, one bone break, or one drop of blood hit the ground you're all fired. And by fired I mean dead. Really dead. As for the blonde hell cat back there, she's a friend of Eric's that's going to be helping us out for a few days. _Don't. Fuck. With. Her. _ Don't talk to her about the weather, don't ask her about her shoes, blah, blah, blah, don't even ask her for the time. You pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?" her last question isn't really a question and I'm in the middle of feeling terrified and happy because she told them not to...mess with me as if I'm important or something. They all nod their heads like soldiers and I make sure to commit their faces to memory so I knew who's staff and who's not. Pam takes a second to stare them all down before she cools a little points away, "Now go get changed."

They follow her finger to what I guess is the staff quarters as if it were a matter of life and death...and I guess it kind of is. Pam turns around with her arms folded over her chest and her eyes look to Eric, secretly I think for some approval that I think she gets because her expression lightens as she unfolds her arms. Eric uncrosses his legs as he sits further down, "For the second hour you will be following Pam. Your objective is to learn how to handle high risk situations without cracking under pressure. The third hour will be followed by actual work and then the cycle will begin again."

"Mhm," I say instead of 'Yup' because I didn't realize that gave Ginger away and she might get in trouble because of my careless mistake.

"Did I ask for confirmation?"

I look at him to see if he's joking but he isn't looking at me so I don't know if I should answer and suddenly I'm so afraid because he's so mean and why would he say that and I don't know what he's going to do! Instead I just answer, "No."

"Hmm," he drawls and I can hear the smirk in his tone as I see it on Pam's face, "I didn't think so."

I can already tell this is going to be the worst vampire night of my life. But wait. I have to be optimistic. I can't just let rude behavior ruin everything. Maybe they just don't know how to express concern and they're not trying to be mean. Maybe that's really how they interact with each other.

"If you're going to be taking my place, Amiena, stand up straight and don't slouch so much. It makes you look insecure and weak. Don't look around the room so much and don't make eye contact with anyone and when someone comes to talk to Eric act like they're talking to you. If the question is too ridiculous for him to answer make sure you do it yourself, " Pam instructs from her place across the room. Alright, she's giving me pointers on how to present myself. See...she's being nice, "Most importantly, don't make that face, sweetheart. You look like some just asked you what two plus two is. Don't look so confused, it's four."

She turns her back as I hear Eric snicker.

I was wrong. Very, very wrong.


	21. Chapter 21

The first hour working at _Fangtasia _isn't as bad as I had expected it to be. The whole time I just had to stand in the same spot and watch all the people come in while Eric sat not caring. It was exactly like at the party when everyone came to say hello to Godric but a little more and less entertaining. It was entertaining in the sense that there was so much activity! The music-scary, scary music-filled the air while the working vampires and humans-scary, scary vampires and humans-danced on platforms and contorted their bodies in ways I still didn't think I could do. And then there were the humans and vampires that came to party and it was obvious who was a first timer and who was a verteran. The veterans walked in and found their place at booths or tables or stools or in what ever little area was designated to dance while the newbees looked up in as much wonder as me. It truly was a spectical. But it was still kind of boring. With humans now and all-aged vampires there were much more people coming to look and probe and ask stupid questions I didn't even want to answer...and I didn't.

It must have been the right thing to do too because every now and then I'd look out and get a head nod from Pam. Just as I could hear her heels clicking on the floor I'm positve she could hear everything I said. And by the time the first hour was over I was excited to start with my second!

"Your first hour is complete," Eric says dismissively without even looking up to me but instead focusing his attention on Pam that walks up to us. Then, to my surprise he added, "Good job."

"Come on, Small-Fry, it's time to shadow," Pam said, beckoning me to get of the stage.

I respond quickly to her call because I had seen her chew out Ginger earlier and I definitely did not want to get yelled out like that and while I'm behind her I can't help but to get excited because Eric said I did a good job! But I can't focus on that. I have a new task at hand. On the floor Pam turns on her heels and walks through the dense crowd, somehow managing to get people to part for us without saying a word or by even looking at them! It clicks instantly that it's the attitude and it's something I have to practice on...but I don't really have an attitude. Sure I was a little sassy and spiteful when Godric wouldn't admit that he loved me but that was an episode. Pam's thing was all day everyday. I part my lips to sigh but then I remember that Pam is listening and if I give out any sign of weakness, or bordom, she'll have my head. So I keep my mouth shut and I straighten my shoulders and try to mimic her actions as best as I can.

We walk to the bar and turn our backs to it, after we fold our arms over our chest, and look out at the crowd. I glance every now and then at Pam to see if I'm getting the facial expression thing right and I'm almost sure I hear Eric laughing at me but I don't pay attention to it because I'm working. Pam keeps her eyes ahead and then she unfolds her arms with a heavy sigh and places them on her hips. I'm just about to do the same thing when she snaps, "Stop copyin' me."

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to be your shadow and honestly I don't know what we're doing," I whisper in as low a voice I can muster.

"What we're doing is scanning the crowd to see if any suspicious activity. A human wearing a little too much silver, a vampire staring at a certain human a little too long, a human flaunting their viens for attention..you know. Any behavior that might start a frenzy," she lists these things as her eyes search for them, her facial features not moving one centimeter as she does.

I look out into the crowd and start to do the same, trying to show how excited I am to be doing an actual job. I look through the humans, checking out their jewlery before their clothes. Gold necklace, ropey type braclet, fake silver anklet, diamond earings, white gold necklace, dangly black earings and so on. Then I look at their clothing but to be honest everyone seems dressed pretty revealing. Even the humans that work here! And then I look at the vampires. For this I look at their eyes and try to follow their line of vision but it's so hard because they usual stop and turn their attention onto me.

"When a vampire meets your ey-"

"I know, don't look away," I say as I stand a little higher and make my shoulders a little straighter. The vampire at that instant glances away for a centimeter and returns his eyes to me but now focuses on my nose. I got him."

"Impressive. You already have half the vampires convinced you're at least one hundred years old," she praises in a flat tone that doesn't really make me feel special but I can't help but to smile because I know she's really proud. I can see it in the way the left corner of her mouth lifts and her eyes get a little dreamy as if she's secretly giving me a little credit. No matter what, I'm taking it.

The next thing we do is walk back through the crowd on our way to the doors. I'm start to feel confusion fill me but I don't say anything or reveal it on my face. Are we leaving? Outside the door I look up at Pam to ask but she's busy waving away some vampire guy that had been standing their before. He hands me a little stamp book and stamper and we take his place-Pam standing tall and letting bordom slightly creep into her features and me trying to mirror that expression but I fail because this is too cool because I know we're going to be checking I.D.'s.

I take a second to calm myself and not hyperventilate but I never once ever in my life dreamed I would be checking the I.D. of people much older than me! I'm not even allowed to legally drink and now I have so much power because I'm a vampire and being a vampire is so amazing and this must be why Pam and Eric are so mean because this is so fun! And no one even suspects that I'm only sixteen so I can pretend to be as old as I want and no one can say a thing! I can't help but to smile as I think about where I was last month; this is a big difference from then. If only the girls could see me. No. I can't think about that. I don't want to break rule number two. But wait. I don't even know what the age limit is! I look up to Pam.

"What's th-"

"When I tell you to stamp, stamp. And not too hard, we don't want a lawsuit," Pam interupts. I don't take it too personal because I can already see this must be the worst part of her evening. I make a mental note not to bother her and to try not to ask too many questions.

But the first group that comes along, a group of two vampires and three humans, comes right in without Pam even batting a lash. I look up at her, "We didn't che-"

"Humans accompanied by vampires don't need an I.D. check. Alone and in packs, humans get the I.D. check," Pam rattles off like she's had to give this explanation more times than she'd like to admit.

I nod my head so she knows that I got it but I'm back to being her shadow and she doesn't acknowledge it. Instead she keeps her eyes forward and her head held high and somehow she easily becomes the tallest person coming in like she's some kind of queen or something. It's really amazing to watch her transform from snarky Pam to this authority figure that isn't trying to frighten me but that's trying to frighten anyone else walking in. As the humans go through her I.D. check I can't help to feel so guilty because she's ruining their night!

I get the ink on the stamp and give them a sympathetic smile as I gently, like I'm doing it to an ant, place the stamp on the back of their hands. If anything I think my job should be to make these people happy and to have fun but there's no way I can do any of that with Pam standing watch over me. But just when I think it's going to get worse something awesome happens! Pam starts to shake violently but only for like a second and then she huffs angrily, "Eric's calling. It's eighteen and older. Under twenty-one get the stamp. Can I trust you to take over without screwing everything up."

It's not really a question...it's more of a secret demand but I answer anyway with joy, "Of course you can!"

She rolls her eyes and walks past me, mumbling something in the odd language I had woken up to her and Eric speaking. But...she's gone! I try to hide the smile pasted on my face and stop myself from doing a little dance-even though I'm breaking rule number four-but it's impossible because I'm so happy that I get to be in charge! I stand tall, tall like Pam did, and suddenly find myself above everyone else too! It's amazing how what power can do to a person! But I know I'm not going to use it in a bad way. Instead of being mean-like Pam and Eric-I'm going to be the nicest I.D. checker anyone has ever seen!

..But not to the scary vampires that walk by and give me the mean eyes to try and scare me. What is it about vampires that make them want to be so mean for no reason? Is it just Louisiana? No. I know it's not that. I'm sure all vampires are like this it's just the ones I met before knew I was Godric's child and since Godric is so important old they knew they had to be nice to me...but without Godric I'm just a new vampire in the area that needs to be broken in.

But that's vampires and not nice little warm humans! Two girls pass by dressed in all black, the dress code I guess, and I reach out my hand like a shield and ask nicely, "Can I see your I.D.'s?"

Their eyes go really wide like they're afraid of me and I try so hard not to laugh because I'm really the least scary vampire within like...a hundred mile radius. But I can't tell them that because the other vampires could hear and get all mean on me. But even if I did tell them it looks like they wouldn't believe me because they shakily hand over their I.D.'s that both say that they're twenty-three, "Are you a..vampire?"

"Yup," I say, impersonating Ginger's voice-and this time her accent! how did I get so good at this?!-as I hand them back their I.D.'s.

"Well...," the one with brown hair looks to the other for confirmation that she should be asking before she continues, "Can we see your fangs?"

My fangs! That's the first time someone's ever asked me! I nod my head a little, even though I want to jump and scream, and open my mouth to let them pop out! It feels so weird too because they haven't popped out in a little while and this time it was my choice, not because of something Godric said or did.

"So cool! Can we take a picture?!" The other friend asks and I can't help but to laugh at how excited they sound.

I nod my head, "Sure, but only if I can take a picture of you guys too."

They nod their heads and squeal, "Yeah!"

I stand and try to put on a fake scary face like I'm growling but the way their eyes go wide up let me know I looked REALLY scary and that wasn't a good idea. So instead I settle on smiling with my fangs out and they jump slightly as they take the picture. I pull up the camera, I had it tucked against my side with the strap hanging on my shoulder, and point it in their direction. Instantly they wrap one arm around each other and throw the other in the air and I laugh as I take their picture, "Perfect! Now what's your names?"

"I'm Lisa," the brown haired girl smiled.

"And I'm Joy," the blonde answers.

"Well, I'm Amie, and I hope you guys have a super awesome time but try to stay under the radar. There are some mean vampires in there," I warn because I really, really like them and I really, really don't want to see them get hurt.

"Don't worry, I've got this one on a leash," Joy grins, pulling Lisa into the club as she shakes her head and makes the crazy gesture about Joy. Wow, humans can be so nice. But wait! I look around to make sure Pam and Eric aren't around as I pop my fangs back in because I just broke rules one and eight! I'm so bad at listening!

But no time to think about that. A group of humans pass by as if to go past me but I jump in front-scaring them in the process-as I ask, "May I see your I.D.'s?"

The girl that seems like she's the ring leader gives me a little smirk as she tilts her head, "Why does a _vampire_ need to see our I.D.?"

It's the way she said it..._vampire_ like we're some side-show attraction like we're not worthy of having our species glide off of her tongue. It fills me with a rage that seems to consume me and control me and I want to squish her little face in but instead I do something even worse, "Listen here, little girl, I'm not going to stand around and pretend to be cordial. I decide whether you get in-or-out and frankly the club has enough incompetent little bloodbags running around and as far as I'm concerned I could snap you all like a twig and put you on the corner with the rest of our trash. Now I'm going to need to see your I.D. and I'd very much appreciate it if you cut the bullshit. You pickin' up what I'm putting down?"

I pop my fangs back in and I think it's the pop or some kind of sound that spooks them but they turn around and start sprinting away in their little high heels so fast I can't help but to laugh at the horrible attempt they make.

I call out after them, "Have a nice night!"

But I'm pretty sure they can't hear me from where they are. I fold my arms over my chest and look at the randoms that are walking up and I give them a little look and just like that some walk away and I know I've reached the level of awesomeness that Eric's been trying to teach me. Ugh! Why didn't he see me! I'm positive I would have gotten a nod or a smile or even a hug or a pat on the head and a 'Good going, champ!' or something! I glance upward and see that there are camera's and I grin up at it. Oh, when they look over the footage they're going to love it!

A vampire that I recognize from earlier walks out and holds his hand out for the stamp and ink pad, "Pam says it's time for you to go in."

I look up at him because he's so tall and nod. He looks older well...around Pam and Eric's age and he has these nice blue eyes, not the lice kind like Pam or Eric and not the watery kind like Godric or the mean serious blue like Stan's and...well I don't know what kind of blue eyes I have but not like those either. His are kind of sad and deep but soft and light at the same time like this blanket I used to have, the one me and my dad used to curl up in when I was little and it was winter and the fireplace was on and cookies were in the air as we watched one of his shows. He kinds of looks like a dad. That's the kind of mean way he represents himself and I have to ask, "What's your name?"

"I'm not allowed to talk to you," he says, keeping his head up and not meeting my eyes just yet.

"Come on," I push, "My name's A-"

"I'm not allowed to know. Please, just let me do my job," he sighs and I frown, putting the stamp book in his hand but not before I stamp his thumb to get rid of the ink I have left on the stamp.

"Have fun," I say before turning around and heading inside the establishment. I guess all the vampires are really, really scared of Pam. But he looked so nice! Does that mean it's going to be impossible to make friends with the people inside.

"You."

I turn and see Longshadow talking to me and I'm surprised he can because the bar is so full of people asking for orders! I walk over and before I even have a second to speak he hands me a tray with drinks on them and for a second I'm brought back to where I was before and the men and the loud clatter and the cat calls and I look back around and it's not all that different anymore.

"Over there," he points over to a table filled with guys and girls holding onto each other and laughing as if they weren't in a vampire bar. I walk over to them and see some of the girls look pretty young and then I realize they're with a vampire, the vampire that I first had my stare off with and I groan. I really don't want to run into him again.

I walk to the table and place the drinks on the edge of the table, deciding they can differeniate between each other what belongs to who. I turn to walk away but suddenly a hard pinch on my butt gets my attention and I spin around, grabbing the hand and twisting it but before it can snap I hear a scream and I look to see it's a human guy and I instantly release it, thankful that I didn't break it like I really wanted to. I smile weakly as he cradles his arm in terror, "I'm sorry, friend. You caught me by surprise."

Before I walk away and back to the bar. I wait for Longshadow to give me my next drink order but he's really busy, even though he's working at vampire speed! And I look over the crowd and see someone at another table raise their hand for me. I go over and see it's a few girls with another vampire girl that looks like she's older than me but younger than Eric but I don't meet her eye because she's too busy looking me up and down.

I ask as tonelessly as I can, "What would you like?"

"Two appletinis, a pina colada, and three shots of jager," the vampire girl orders, meeting my eye this time as she does.

"Coming right up," I smile but it's awkward because I know I'm not suppose to look away but I have to look away because I have to give the orders to Longshadow.

"You look familiar?" the vampire girl suddenly asks and I try so hard to control myself and try not to panic but I'm really panicking. Did she see the video Ginger was talking about?

I sigh heavily and say the first thing that comes to mind, "I'm not Shirley Temple."

Her eye glances sideways as if to look to Eric and then she comes back and stares at my nose, "Hm. That must have been it."

I turn back around and walk toward Longshadow, thanking my lucky stares that I got away from that one. I rush up to the bar, leaning agaisnt the bar as I call out the order because I know he can hear it from a mile away he just as his mind busy mixing and stiring and shaking. I look back out at the people sitting to see if anyone else needs a drink but suddenly I catch a whiff of something sweet and familiar and my eyes are instantly glued to the blonde girl walking in with a handsome vampire companion. She looks younger than Pam and much older than me and for some reason I can't stop looking at her as she's lead to a table by the vampire man. Maybe it's how wide and brown her eyes look, filled with the same wonder and confusion I've been filled with since I walked in, or maybe it's because she looks like the nicest person I've ever seen.

But whatever it is I know I have to talk to her.


	22. Chapter 22

Without knowing I begin to walk toward the couple, trying to get around the mush of people that seem to have suddenly found interest in the bar. Unfortunately, Longshadow gets my attention with an angry "You!" and he shoves the tray of drinks at me for the vampire and her human friends but she's the last thing I'm thinking about. I have the sudden urge to drop the tray at a random table but I know that would be a horrible idea because Pam would kill me. But I really don't want to talk to that creepy lady again.

But I have to.

With an internal groan I zigzag through the crowd and to the lady's table. I place the drinks on it carefully, leaving them at the edge again so they can decide who wants what. The human girls say 'thank you' and I nod at them 'you're welcome' but the vampire lady is quiet which must be uncharacteristic because one of the other girls is lightly pushing her shoulder to get her to say something. The vampire lady's eyes don't stop looking at me but I make sure not to get into her direct line of sight so I don't have to stay there and keep up another contest. I need to talk to that girl.

So I spin from their table-two human guys were trying to corner me against the table and the booth of girls but my twirl successfully got me out of their zone-and make my way to the couple. She sticks out like a sore thumb because of the pretty dress she's wearing that is nothing like what the other girls are wearing. And her eyes jump from face to face so fast like she's a kid in a candy store but her tight lipped expression shows that she's not nearly that excited to be here.

I walk up to their table-more like jump in front of-and say as politely-more like loudly-as I can, "Welcome to _Fantasia!_ My name's Amie! What can I get you?!"

The girl jumps backward into the vampire man's arms who looks so angry like he might want to kill me for scaring her and he's staring so hard at me that I'm actually scared too but the girl breaks our gaze with a simple Southern answer, "Water's just fine. Thank you, Amie. That's a pretty name, sounds French."

I nod my head with excitement, amazed she had picked up on it, "Yeah! It is. It means 'friend.' I got the name because my mother is French and well, my full name's Amiena because my grandma, on my dad's side, was named was Aminah but my mom wanted to put a little bit of her culture into it."

"Wow, see, I think it's so interesting when people have stories about their names. My name's just Sookie and I can't for the life of me figure out why my parents named me that," she said with an incredulous look on her like she's _still_ trying to figure it out right there. I can't help but to laugh and even though I shouldn't I sit down with them-despite the guy's recoil into protective mode over Sookie-and she asks, "Where're you from? You don't look or sound familiar."

"Yeah, I'm only here for a short visit and I'm taking up a little waitressing work while I'm here. See, I'm orginally from New Jersey but then my maker took me to Dallas and I've been living their ever since," I blabber but for some reason she looks really interested like she wants to hear the stuff I have to tell her. "Where are you from?"

"That's funny, I'm a waitress too at _Merlotte's_. But anyway, I'm from a little town by the name of Bon Tempts. It's on 167. Have you heard of it?" she asks, her eyes getting a little furrowed like she's concentrating, maybe trying to figure out why she feels like we're friends too.

I shake my head sadly, "No. I don't know anything about this place. I just came last night from Dallas so I'm still stuck here."

"Who are you staying with?" she looks really concerned and her eyes look so familiar like they remind me of someone else's I've seen before.

"Wi-," oh, no. I'm not suppose to give out that kind of information. I'm not suppose to give out _any_ kind of information! But she looks expectant like she's waiting for me to answer, "Relatives."

It's not a real lie just not the whole truth. She smiles and then that's where I recognize the connection my mind was making! Taggart and MJ! That's who she reminds me of! At that I break into a large smile and try to contain my excitement but I can't at all. She lets out a little laugh, "I know how relatives can be. I don't really have many of my own except my brother Jason and my cousin Hadley..but I haven't really seen her in a while."

"I haven't really seen anyone in a while," I admit but then halfway through the middle of the sentence I start to feel so sad because..I think again about the blanket me and my dad used to curl up in and how he'd hug me and then when the cookies were done my mom would join us and she'd sit on the couch and she'd put the plate of cookies on my lap and then they'd kiss above me while I pretended not to notice and sometimes my grandpa would make a big stink and sing: _that's amore. _

"Are you alright? Did I say something to upset you?" Sookie's warm hand touches mine and maybe it's just me but I think I see our hands glow a little but no it's just the weird lights and my blury vision.

I shake my head as I keep my eyes down and answer, "I'm sorry it's just..I miss my mom and dad and I miss my grandpa."

Her hand leaves and I hear the guy scowled, "Sookie."

And I look up in time to see her snap, "Bill."

She scoots over next to me and she places her warm arm around my shoulders and I'm stunned because it's the most contact I've ever had with a human and she doesn't look scared one bit. She hands me a napkin and I use it to dab at my eyes because I know if I wipe the blood'll smear all over the place.

"What happened to them?" Sookie asks in the most sincere voice like the one my mother used to use when I'd come home sad and trying not to cry. All it took was that voice and then I would spill everything like I was a paper bag trying to hold in a waterfall. She squeezes my shoulders a little and urges me to go on with a little, "Come on. I won't tell anyone."

That was all it took.

Like the paper bag again I told her everything, _everything_. I started from New Year's and my grandpa and then to the birthday party and then too the line up and then to the castle and then to the girls getting shot and then to the basement and the parties and the girls and Nelson and James and then to trying to escape and then to Godric saving me and how wonderful he's been and that made me cry the most because I really missed him so much and then to Godric killing James because he attacked me and I ended to having to work here with stupid Pam and Eric that're so mean to me. By the end I was so sure I wasn't going to stop crying that I didn't notice that Sookie was crying almost harder than I was and she was holding me so close that I could hear the pulsing in her veins like an echoe through the whole establishment.

For some reason seeing that she's crying with me makes me stop and I dab at my eyes quickly and ask, "Why are you crying?"

"You're so young. You shouldn't have to...that shouldn't have been your life," she chokes a little on the last word and she turns away to Bill who gives her a sympathetic smile before she looks back to me and whispers, "Remember how I said I only had my brother Jason and cousin Hadley?"

I nod my head, knowing that she's going to tell me something really sad that's only going to make me sadder.

"Well...I used to have one more person there, my Gran, but..a few...a few days ago...," the whole time Sookie had been trying to stay composed and keep her lip from quivering but now it's like she can't help but to sob out, "She's dead now."

"Oh, Sookie," I cry as I wrap my arms around her and hold her like I'm holding a tiny little seed. She cries on my shoulder and I try not to cry on her dress but I can't help but to start thinking that she didn't say she had any parents and that her Gran must have been the one to take care of her and her brother and her cousin after what ever horrible thing that happened to them happened. Just a few days ago? I start to cry even more because I think of the few days after my grandpa died and how I felt so hopeless and terrified and how I never thought the sun would come up or the moon would rise and I felt like all the stars in the sky had just collapsed on top of me.

"I am truly sorry to have to break this up," Bill says in a tone that somehow splits us up, "But Pam is makin' a bee-line to us and she does not look pleased."

I turn around in time to see Pam coming with eyes so angry they look like they're on fire. I look back to Sookie and try not to cry because I know I'm probably never going to see her again because Pam's going to kill me, "It was nice meeting you."

"Come to _Merlotte's._ Tomorrow night. I'll be working," she pleads, not letting go of my arms even though I'm trying to shake her away.

I nod my head, "Oka-" before I'm yanked away by Pam.

She grabs be by my elbow so hard and so fast I don't even have time to get to my feet so she's literally dragging me through the crowd until somehow I manage to find my balance and can follow her properly. She takes me to the back room where her and Eric had been in and she slams the door behind us and tosses me into a chair as she shouts, "Just what the _fuck_ do you think you were doing?!"

I open my mouth to try and defend myself but suddenly her fingers take hold of my lips in the oddest manner that somehow makes it impossible for me to move them or my face!

"How dumb can you really be? Did you not stop to _THINK_ that they could have come to gather information about you to use against Godric or worse, Eric? And if not them did you not stop to think of the others watching your blubbering? You had everyone convinced that you were at least one hundred years old and now they are all _certain_ you are a new child. How do you think that makes us look?" she lets go of my lips in a motion that seems like she's going to throw me away but instead she hardly touches me. She looks like she's expecting an answer but I'm so scared all I can do is sink into the chair and try to stop myself from shaking. So fast she puts her hands on either side of the chair arms and in my face shouts, "It _makes_ **us** look _**weak!**_"

I cower away from her and whisper, "I'm _sorry!"_

But she doesn't listen. Instead she storms to the door and hisses, "You are not to leave this room until we have decided what's to be done with you. And one more thing. You make me both physically and emotionally ill. I hope you're happy."

She slams the door shut after her but it isn't until a few seconds later that I curl up into a little ball in the chair and start to cry. Why do they have to be so horrible? All I wanted was to make a friend with Sookie and I did and I couldn't even take a picture because Pam had to embaress me in front of everyone and maybe I embaressed myself but why does crying have to be a bad thing? Yeah my old friends and my dad would tell me to stop because they didn't want me to feel bad or maybe because they thought the crying might be contagious or something but they never said it was the wrong thing to do. And my mom would hold me tight until I was finished crying, and she would rub my back. And my grandpa would make me cry! He's shout things like "get mad!" "get angry!" "be sad!" "drag yourself to that horrible place and sob it out!" They never made me feel ashamed!

Why did vampires have to be different? Because they're heartless, that's why! Because they're mean and they're cold and there's no sense to them! I hate being a vampire! I hate it! I hate not being able to do what I want and I hate being stuck in this stupid place and I hate everything! I'm so angry I just want to break everything up!

I slam my hands on the desk before I realize what I've done but to my surprise it doesn't really break. Instead it just groans under my hands and I realize that someone must have bought an extra strong desk for situations just like this. But no one thought to save the control. In fear I try to piece it back together, I didn't even realize it was there!, but there's no saving that thing. So I open the drawer and I sweep it into it but then something catches my eye. It's a DVD in a clearcase and something in me says "Don't look at it" but then that same thing says "Ah, nevermind."

I open the DVD and place it into the DVD player and sit in what must be Eric's chair to look at the video on the tv in the corner of the room. At first it's just an empty room but that room suddenly becomes very familiar and then I see myself and James enter the room and I realize what this is.

My first instinct is to shut off the horrible video and I recoil because it's horrible that vampires would find this sort of thing so entertaining! But I still keep watching as James and I roll around and fight and it's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen and I feel like I'm going to be sick, especially when Godric comes in and rips off his head but then I'm in Godric's arms and I press the pause on the DVD player and just watch that moment because I miss it so much.

I shut my eyes and try to block out the sound of all the horrible music playing outside-that isn't even good!-but it doesn't work. I pull out my camera and flip through the pictures to Godric, knowing that always makes me feel better. I look at the picture and sigh, touching it again and smiling as I remember the kiss and the poems and the way his arms feel around me and the phone conversation earlier today and how he taught me how to dance and how wonderful he is and how no matter what when all of this is done we're going to be together and Pam and Eric can't take that away...or can they?

The door opens and shuts so fast the TruBlood is on the desk before I can even see who left it but I take a sniff of the air and it brings up the image of the guy that wouldn't tell me his name from outside. I huff angrily again as I drink up the horrible drink. No one wants to be my friend and everyone is giving me the silent treatment. How am I suppose to get through the rest of the night?

...

The thing about vampire time is when you want it to go slow it goes fast but when you think you want it to go fast it goes REALLY REALLY fast.

It's like I didn't even have time to finish my TruBlood when the music stopped and the chairs all squeaked against the floor as...I guess they were being turned onto the table for mopping. I wonder briefly who's the one that does that job but then I realize that's not what I should be worried about. I should be worried by the simple fact that Pam and Eric are going to yell at me and I'm going to be in so much trouble I won't even know what to do with myself.

As the thought enters my head, a huge wave of anxiety rolls into me and I feel like a huge boulder has just planted into my gut. This night is just getting worse and worse and honestly it's not even my fault I was just doing what they told me they should have foreseen that at least one person would want to talk to me and want to make friends with me or something. I didn't even get to take Sookie's picture. Wait...was that Bill THE Vampire Bill?

The slight click in the door that reveals the knob is being turned sends me into a panic and before I know it I'm under the desk, holding myself together. I don't know who it is and I know I'm going to get yelled at for not standing my ground or something stupid like that but it's the first thing that I think to do.

Nothing happens yet...so maybe I'm saf-

The chair that I used to protect me suddenly slams backward into the wall causing me to jump up and bang my head against the top of the desk and then hide my face in my hands and in the corner. Eric commands in a low scary voice, "Pick yourself off the floor and clean your face. I'll be damned if you shame Godric any longer with your display."

I feel a rage build in me but I can't let it out now, I have to control myself. There are more people on his side now and when we go back to their house it will just be the two I have to worry about and I can get around Pam if I have to but Eric is the real threat. I grind my teeth together and snatch the rag from his hand so I can wipe it with my face. I'm not even done before he grabs me by my elbow and pulls me along to the club. I yank my elbow away from his grip but it doesn't matter because by the time we get out Pam is there already holding onto my other one. I'm so angry I just want to hit both of them.

But I have to wait.

The car ride goes by slower than I want and in the middle of the both of them I'm so tempted to lash out in a frenzy and grab and pull and try to break anything that touches me. I hate this place. I hate these people. I want them all to just go away and if I have to do that by force then I'm not afraid to do that. But I have to think of Godric. What would Godric say? Well the picture that Eric paints of him tells me that he would be nothing but proud if I stand by ground and Stan too. Oh, if I had Stan. We could definitely get rid of these two. It wouldn't be as easy as Godric pulling off James' head but somehow we'd get them to face the True Death and that's all she wrote.

But it's not.

The car stops in front of the house and I follow Pam out in the same disgusted speed that she impliments. I rush to the house before them and once inside I don't even wait for them. I run up to my room and I slam the door shut as I let out a giant scream. I hate it here I feel like I'm choking! I rip off my clothes, making sure to get them into little tiny pieces, and I throw them on the ground where Pam can see if she wants to come in. I take off the shoes and I throw them against the wall, getting them stuck in the holes that I create with their impact too. I'm so angry!

I put on my P.J.s, trying to calm myself in the process but there is no way for me to be calm. I've never felt this kind of wrath in all of my life! Not even when I had been taken, not even when Godric called my love _childish notions_, and not even when James tried to attack me! Ugh! I can't even begin to-

Knock, Knock.

"Who is it!" I shout in the scariest tone I can muster but somehow it doesn't come out like I sounded.

"Godric wants to speak with yo-"

I open the door and pull the phone from Eric's hand before slamming the door back on his face. I put the phone to my ear and I begin to sob, "I hate it here Godric! I hate it! I want to stab myself in the heart with a giant wooden knife! I want to jump into the deep blue ocean and watch the sunrise with the fishes as I burn away! I can't stand it here! They are so mean and they don't even like me! I should have stayed home! I hate them so much! They want to kill me and they are so miserable and the only thing that makes them happy is torturing me but NOOO when I start to cry I'm suddenly a horrible disgusting creature that _they_ can't even look at! I hate it he-"

"Amiena!"

He yelled at me. Instantly my mouth shuts and I collapse onto the edge of the bed as I feel the boulder in my stomach double in size and take up my whole chest cavity. I feel like I'm going to throw up.

"I knew that sending you so far from home would prove to be uncomfortable for you and I anticipated some complications but I will not stand for your outrageous disrespect. Before the evening began Eric and I both discussed the rules that would be implimented for the evening and it has come to my attention that you have broken every single one of the-"

"No!" I cry out, "That's a lie! That's a big fat lie! I didn't have sex and I didn't drink any human blood!"

"Regardless. You broke the rules that were most integral and expected there to be no consequences. I told you to follow Eric's rules as if thy were my own laws and yet you disobeyed him as easily as you find it to disobey me. I will not tolerate this behavior any longer. Eric and I have both agreed it would be best that you stay in the estate for the duration of your visit. I advise that you take the rest of this time to apologize to both Eric and Pam for disregarding their attempt to keep you saf-"

"They aren't trying to keep me safe! They want me to be their slav-"

"Enough!"

I can't help but to sob as he shouts and I cover my face with my hands and bring my knees to my chest and try to curl up into a small little thing that doesn't take up any space. I can still hear him sigh heavily so I know he can hear me when I cry, "Why aren't you even listening to me? Why are you taking his side over mine? Why are you being so mean to me?"

"Eric is over one thousand years old. I trust his judgement as my own and while I do trust you I have taken into consideration that you are still very, very young and therefore cannot be held responsible for your interpretation of events. Amie, I will not have you continue to abuse Eric while he is extending his patients, kindness, and limited resources to us. From now on you will treat him with the respect he so rightfully deserves," his tone, as it had been this whole conversation, has no soft point in it and no joy and no happiness and no sympathy and no anything that I had been hoping to hear all evening. It's like he's given up on me or something. "Is that understood?"

"Fine," I mumble, as I bury my face into my lap and try not to focus on horribly devistated I am right now.

"Amiena," he sighs like he's tired of my antics and I can't help but to feel so angry.

"Good night," I mutter before shutting the phone and picking it up and throwing it as hard as I can and lodging it between the heels I have hanging on the wall. I don't know if it broke or not but I don't care.

"Amiena!" I hear Eric call and this time I'm MORE than happy to oblidge.

I run out of my room and to the top of the stairs where Pam and Eric are waiting in their own jammies at the bottom. I stamp down the stairs, trying to break them but somehow not being able to because they are SO STRONG. I look up at Eric and meet his gaze that is really terrifying and I want to look away but I wont because I'm so angry so I hiss, "What?"

I hear Pam growl but a look from Eric stops her and I wonder how it's so easy for him to look away but jump back into the contest like it didn't even matter. He hovers over me, scaring me slightly but I'm not giving up, "You will speak to me with the respect I deserve."

"No!" I shout. "I hate you! I hate you both! You're both so evil and cruel and I can't stand to be here anymore and I wish this whole place would burn to the ground and I don't care what Godric says I'm not going to listen to you and if I have to stay here any longer I'll just kill myself in Pam's closet so all her wonderful clothes can never be clean again! And I-"

Suddenly his fingers lash out like Pam's did and my lips are shut with no hope of moving and I feel like my whole body is paralyzed and I have to learn this lip trick if I'm ever going to make it as a vampire. But while I was focused on the lip thing I didn't see Eric turn into the terrifying monster that children must see when they shut their eyes at night. His eyes go right through mine like lazers and it's safe to say he won..especially when he starts to shout, "You are the most pathetic excuse for a vampire that I have ever had the displeasure to lay eyes upon. Don't you dare threaten me with suicide because if it weren't for Godric I would put you out of your misery myself. The very fact that we share Godric's blood fills me with so much unease that I for the first time in all my years question Godric's desicion since you shame his very name. You are a disgrace to this family and if I ever hear you disregard an order from Godric again I will take it upon myself to teach you the manners he must have forgotten to instruct. I can't even stand to look at you. If he were here he would release you at this instance."

Release? I thought I had been angry before but that had nothing on how I feel now.

I lift up my foot to kick Eric in his side but suddenly I'm upside down and he's holding me by my ankle, "It may have been an even match against James but you have either not been informed of my past or you have choosen to neglect it. While James had been a potter and had spent his vampire life studying politcs I was born a Viking Prince and at Godric's side I have fought battle after battle and have won. If you dare challenge me to a fight you won't last a second.

I growl angrily and scream, "Wanna bet!" before I punch him as hard as I can in the crotch.

Instantly he goes down and I feel Pam's hand lashing out for me but I'm already anticipating it so I grab her wrist and I throw her to the other side of the room but Eric's up and he's reaching for my leg so fast so I jump and somehow manage to get onto the stairs and I run all the way up the stairs and I run through the entire house trying to get away from them and they're so close to me and I can feel Eric's fingertips on the back of my neck and I'm sure I'm going to die and I know it was a stupid thing to do but I was so angry and the coffin!

I run to the basement and I jump into the coffin and I shut it tight and I hold onto the hood from inside so they can't open it but then suddenly I'm falling and I crash upside down against the top of the closed hood on the ground. I try to push myself out but it's impossible because the combined weight of me and the coffin are holding down the hood and there's no way for me to get out and I'm trapped and I open my mouth to call out for help but then Pam and Eric's evil laugh fill the air.

"Good work, Pam," Eric says in his evil impressed voice.

And then Pam snidely calls, "Sweet dreams, pumpkin."

I really, REALLY hate them.


	23. Chapter 23

That night I had a dream that I was flying. In my dream I had wings that were SOO long that they stretched out over the entire North American continent and when I flapped my wings the Earth dropped lower and lower out of the Sun's gravitational pull. Everyone saw that my wings were too big and they were scared that I would make the Earth fall out of space and we would all die so they cut off my wings but my wings just grew back and got bigger and bigger. This continued on for what felt like eternity until one day someone else grew their own wings that were just as big as mine and it was Godric! I flew to him, because he was on the other side of the planet, and I asked him when he got his wings and he said he had them all along. I asked him why I never knew he had wings like mine and he said he's afraid people are going to cut his off and his don't grow back. It made me so sad because he was terrified, he was so terrified that he never once in his life tried to fly. The people of Earth were even more scared now because of how large our wings are and they tried to cut off Godric's but instead I pushed him into the sky and I made him fly and he flew so high and so fast that I couldn't believe how beautiful he looked as he left the Earth and flew into outer space himself, something I had never thought to do. I smiled and decided that I would fly up there too but before I could large chains came over me and dragged me all the way down into the ocean and I tried to escape but the chains were so heavy and the water was dragging me deeper and deeper and I couldn't escape and all the while I called for Godric but he couldn't hear me because he was so far away. And the chains. The chains were so hard and they got tighter around me the more I struggled and they dug into my skin and they made large cuts that burned with the seasalt and when I tried to open my eyes all I saw were the people above the water taking pictures and using me because it turned out that my tears made people rich because it had powers I didn't even know it had. And I was stuck there. I was stuck in the water and all I did was cry and cry and it turned out that I cried so much that my tears replaced the salty ocean water and suddenly I was useless again and I begged for them to let me go but they said no. And they kept me there. Forever.

The sound of feet shuffling , thankfully, wakes me up from my horrible dream and I'm brought into my horrible reality that I'm stuck inside a coffin with no way of getting out. Wait...is that? I blink my eyes a few times to get out the sleep that's still stuck but it's not sleep that's creating this sight before me. Beside the little pillow I had slept on sits a bottle of unopened TruBlood and a note. I snatch the note from the bottle and try to read it before I have the urge to rip it into tiny little shreds.

The note reads: _"Dear Amiena, I hope you use this valuable time to think of a truly moving and sincere apology. The only rooms you have access to are: your bedroom, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Everything else is off limits. Don't think about escaping, either. We have gaurds surrounding the perimiter. -E & P"_

E & P?

I'm unsure what upsets me most about the note, the fact that they expect me to apologize or the fact that they signed it that way. It's definitely both. I reach for the TruBlood and pull it to me. It's B+, not even a good flavor, but to my surprise there are little sugar packets tapped to the bottom of it. For a split second I can't help but to smile weakly because one of them saw that I put sugar into my drink and one of them had been nice enough to leave it behind. I open up the packet and take a deep breath, remembering so many things that I should probably try to forget. I can't imagine who left it, though. It's most likely Pam. We had that soft moment when she was fixing my hair and dressing me up and she almost seemed human around then. Or it could be Eric. I thought I saw him smile slightly when I asked for the sugar from Longshadow last night but I'm not sure. It would most likely come from Pam.

But they're still mad at me. I take a listen to the house to hear if Pam and Eric are still in but I can hear the engine from the usual truck driving away. I pop open the bottle of TruBlood and take an unwillful sip. Now that the dynamic-duo are gone I don't have to bother being on my best behavior. There aren't any real rules now except: don't leave, don't touch anything, and don't go anywhere except my room, the bathroom, and the kitchen. Wow. So many choices.

And yet I'm still waiting here. I swallow the rest of the TruBlood and look at the casket that surrounds me. I have to get out before I consider doing anything, which ultimately is leaving. I don't even feel bad about leaving either. Eric and Pam know just as well as I do that as soon as Sookie told me to visit her at _Merlotte's _I was going to be gone. But where in the world is that place even? I guess I can always track her down by scent. She did smell different, much different from how other humans smell. She kind of smells like the way a star would smell if I could get that close into outerspace to try it out. I'm sure I could find it if I just find 167...what ever that is.

But I can't even consider that. First of all, I have to get out of this casket. I huff heavily and look around the thing, I have to figure out how Eric and Pam got the note and TruBlood inside in the first place. I narrow my eyes as I check the linings and cracks where a very visible slant of light is evident at my side. I press my hand against the side and can feel a very slight breeze. I push lightly on it and feel it buckle under my strength and then I punch it where it shatters under the pressure. I grin happily with triumph, did they think I was stupid enough to stay locked in this thing?

I shimmy out of the coffin and before I even stand onto my feet I make a run for my room, just in case there are camera's watching somewhere or there are people here to keep an eye. I lean agaisnt the door and try to widen my listening scope as far as two miles to see if I can catch some breathing; to my displeasure I can hear four lungs trickling around the estate and from their even heartbeats I can tell they're all human. Somehow that doesn't really put me at ease. If they're human they must be really good at keeping an eye out. I glance around my room and see a window shut by gold and lavander curtains. They probably can see the light shining from behind it. They know I'm in here.

I open my door so it isn't noticable when its being shut or opened and then walk to my closet. This is the really tough part because I don't know what to wear. I want to look nice but not too nice and I want to be comfortable but I don't want to LOOK comfortable and I want to impress Sookie but I don't want to LOOK like I'm trying to be impressive. I'm sure if I gave all these descriptions to Pam or Isabel they could figure out an outfit in all of two seconds. But not me. I've never really been good at finding anything to wear.

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.

I walk into the closet and look up at all the different clothes and colors available to me and I almost wish I could go back to my beautiful dresses waiting for me at home. There it was so easy to find something to wear because everything was so beautiful and I knew what I wanted to prove each day. I wanted to prove that I was a princess and I wanted to make Godric love me but here it's so hard to decide. I'm just about to give up when WOW!

I pull out this dress that is so wonderful I can't even begin to believe that it's in my posession. I rush to the mirror and hold it out in front of me and before I know it I'm in front of the mirror with the red dress on. I twirl slightly in one space as I look at it and grin. It's a bright color red-not crimson or maroon, RED-and it goes in tight at my waist and expands outward from there and stops at my knees and makes me look even taller than I am! And up top it looks like an actual shirt with little sleeves that stop at my shoulders and in behind is a slight plundge that only shows just a little bit of the top of my back. And now I need shoes! I run to the closet and find a nice pair of shiny black flats and then I run back to the mirror. I look at my hair, which I'm thankful is curly and great and not too crazy, and decide that I should do something different with it. I grab a red clip and pin back my hair toward the right side of my head and give myself a big thumbs up. Tonight is going to be awesome.

But now I have to figure out how to get around the four guys outside. But honestly...what are they going to do? Shoot me? If they shot me Godric would be ma-...Well...back when he loved me he would have been mad, now I guess I have to fend for myself. But what can they do? If they shoot me, even with the most acurate aim, I can still heal. I guess the best thing they can do is tell Eric and then Eric will come and grab me and hurt me and get me into more trouble and make me cry and have Godric release me...what ever that means.

However...I can still get around it. I think back to last night when Eric AND Pam were chasing after me and though they're a lot older than me I still got away from them...until I got myself stuck in the casket. Maybe if I run and don't stop until I get far away from the four guys they wont be able to see me and I can get away but before I can even do that I need to distract them so everyone believes I'm still here. I decide I should probably make it look like I'm sleeping in bed so I take all the ripped up clothes and some pillows and mush it up so that it looks like I'm sleeping there. And then I rush to the bathroom and I turn on the shower so that it looks like I'm in there. Eventually it'll get suspicious that the little vampire girl is taking a long LONG shower and maybe they'll report it to Eric but I doubt he'll care enough to check. He won't know I'm gone until it's way too late.

And then, as I get my bag and my camera, I realize that the best thing I can do is write them a letter.

I grab the note Eric and Pam left me and I grab a pen and on the back I write: _"Dear E & P, Thanks for the TruBlood, the sugar, and the hospitality. I've decided to get out of your hair, even though I'm not really sure what I did to make you so angry. I doubt you'll try to find me but if there is the tiniest chance you do please stop your search before it begins. You were right when you said I was a shame to the family and it's probably better that I not be apart of it. Maybe we'll run into each other a thousand years down the line and maybe we can be friends then. But if not. I still want you both to have a nice life. -Amiena"_

I reread the letter and feel a sense of dread wash over me. I didn't know I was planning on leaving for good until my itention came out on the paper. I wipe at my eyes a little bit and sigh. I'm not really leaving Godric forever. When he comes back I'll apologize and maybe he'll forgive me or maybe he'll want to wait until I'm as mean as Pam and Eric are. Maybe then I can really join the family. I think about this as I leave the note on the front steps where I'm positive they'll see it. Even if they aren't looking for it, it's a vampire thing to notice what doesn't belong.

But now that everything is set the final phase must begin.

I stare at the front door because it's the perfect place to leave through; they'll all expect me to escape through the back or the kitchen or one of the many windows. But can I do it? Compared to all my other acts of "rebellion" this will be the worst one. I can get in REAL trouble for this. Well..that's if they ever find me again. Which they wont. I sigh as I look over the big doors again. I have to do it.

I tighten the strap on my camera around my neck and I tighten the straps of my bag on my shoulders. I'm all set. But I remind myself: no hesitation, I'm out of there. And that's exactly what I do. I open the door and I shut it as I run three miles into the direction I had been facing which miraculously lead me to a random street with a sign leading to 167. I can't help but to smile as I face that sign. Everything is working out great. I run to the large highway until I come across a sign that leads to Bon Tempts and I keep running in that direction until I hit a sign that leads to _Merlotte's_ and with all my running my shoes aren't even dirty and my hair is still fine and standing outside of the place I feel like I'm Alice in Wonderland.

The place is in the middle of a really dense wooded area and it looks like some large cabin turned into a bar and grill...which it probably was. The place is magnificent in it's simplicity and in the fact that it's not trying hard to be anything but what it is. Not to mention that it's loud and radiates all kinds of smells and voices and sounds and heartbeats that when mixed together create a symphony of sound that calls me and welcomes me and makes me feel like I can really belong here. Like there's no need for me to be judged. I take in a deep breath of the natural untampered with air and grin. No place like a new home.

I walk in through the front door and instantly begin my search for Sookie but it appears she is no where in sight. I try not to frown but I can't help but to feel a sad pull in my gut because what if she's not here and there's no one that will take me in and help me when now I'm so obviously lost. What do I do if she doesn't show? I glance around again but this time I see that most of the people eating are now looking at me and the only ones that aren't looking at me can't see me. I wonder for a second if I should be worried but I push it to the back. If Sookie lives with these people they surely aren't the ones I have to be worried about.

A red-headed lady-a waitress I assume-suddenly meets my eye and I can't help but to automatically notice how exhausted she looks as she carries around a tray of food. She picks up a menu and hands it to me as she says in her tired southern voice, "If you can find a seat you can have it."

She begins to turn around but I stop her, "I'm so sorry, but I'm looking for Sookie?"

She gives me a big and almost amused huff, "Aren't we all, sweetie" before turning away and walking to a table all the way in the back.

As I walk to the other side of the place I try not to cry but I really think I'm going to start. For some reason people start to leave in chunks with their food hardly touched and I can't help but to feel like it's my fault. Do they hate me? No, it can't be. I haven't even done anything to them! They must be annoyed with the crazy vibe the place is filled with and especially how antsy everyone is.

I take a seat at an empty booth and watch as the woman that gave me the menu yells at a handsome looking guy that just walked in from the back, "Damn it, Sam! I can't do everything here! I ain't Wonder Woman!"

"No one's askin' you to be, Arlene! Where's Sookie?" he sighs in a nice accent of his own, sounding just as agrivated as Arlene does. For a second I feel a sense of dread. Is she hurt? But from their slight conversation I can tell that Sookie must disappear often and they're not annoyed with her, just the times she decides to pull her acts.

I look down at the unopened menu and bite my lip to stop it from quivering. What if she doesn't come back tonight? Where in the world am I going to go? Oh no! Where am I going to sleep when the sun comes up! I didn't even think about that! Oh no! I'm surely going to fry up and no one's going to care because it's all my fault for not paying attention and listening to the stupid rules. This was a bad idea.

"Hey, I'm Sam, what can I get you?"

I look up with a shock as I see the guy that had been asking for Sookie is standing at my table. Instantly I start to blush for no reason or maybe because he is the second most handsome person I have ever seen in all my life and just the way his face has been formed makes him look like he actually is the second nicest guy I will ever meet and although his eyes are tired and cranky they're also sweet and patient and for some reason I don't even know what to say!

His mouth turns into a sheepish smile and I can tell by the way his face starts to grin he KNOWS I think he's so handsome and I'm suddenly so embarresed and I groan and look away but he chuckles, "You can quit bein' shy now, I ain't gonna bite you. What're you lookin' for?"

"I'm looking for Sookie," I answe-...wait. He smells different. Not like a human and not like a vampire and not like that guy Alcide I had met that drove us to the estate from the airport. But it's not awful...in fact it kind of makes me like him a little more because it reminds me of dogs.

He sighs heavily and I'm surprised because he takes the seat in front of me and he gives me a really sad smile like he feels bad for me and maybe even a little for himself too. He looks down and then back at me before speaking, "I'm sorry, darling, but I'm not sure where Sookie's run off to. I swear she was working just five minutes ago but it looks like Vampire Bill must've pulled her away for whatever excuse it is now."

"Don't be mean to her," I can't help but to defend, "She just lost her Gran."

Sam looks up at me, looking even sadder than he did before, "I know...I saw...I saw it. I came after to check on her and..I'm not tryin' be mean but I've known Sookie long enough to know when she's mixed up in business she ain't supposed to be mixed up in and this Vampire Bill keeps draggin' her in when she needs to get out."

"But she loves him," I protest. I don't want to hear this kind of stuff about Sookie getting into trouble because of Vampire Bill. I want her to be safe and I want her to be happy and from what I saw at _Fangtasia_ she did look happy with him and he looked like he wanted to protect her no matter what.

Sam opens his mouth to speak but he stops himself and gives this little smile like he realized just then the fight wasn't his fight anymore. He takes in a deep breath and nods, opening up his little note pad and pulling out the pencil from behind his ear, "You're right...You know, if you don't mind me askin', you're a little too young to be here unaccompanied. How old are you?"

I can't help but to grin because for the first time it's like he sees me, the real me with my age and everything and his brows are furrowed like he's concerned. But still! I can't help but to roll my eyes as I smile, "I'm sixteen and I'm alone because I'm _looking_ for Sookie."

He let's out a laugh I wasn't expecting as he nods, "Right, right. I'm sorry. Sometimes I focus too much on one thing and forget all the rest. But I'll tell you what. You just wait here for as long as it takes for Sookie to come and if she doesn't show up by closing I'll Arl...maybe not Arlene...I'll have Tara drive you home. Sound like a plan?"

I look over to Tara who is the bartender and for some reason looks so mad at me I can't believe it. She's terribly beautiful like an Amazon Warrior Princess but her muscles and her twisted angry face let's me know that while she's pouring alcohol now she can break a bottle over my head in a second. I shiver away a fraction and whisper, "She doesn't look like she likes me very much."

"That's cause she hasn't gotten a chance to know you. Pluuuus," he draws out as he stretches his shoulders backwards and looks at her with a smile, "She can get kinda jealous."

My mouth opens in a wide happy surprise, "You two are together?"

He blushes brightly and I can't help but to laugh by his suddenly flustered display, "Well-Well, I don't wanna...push anything but we have been seein' each other."

I grin widely and hold my hands clasped at my heart because suddenly his face has gotten all soft like a love-sick puppy like the way my dad would get when it was Valentine's Day and my mom would buy him a little surprise. I lean in and ask, "Have you bought her flowers yet?"

His eyes go wide and his face smiles and he shakes his head, "I haven't thoughta that. You don't think it's a little too soon for flowers?"

I shake my head quickly, "It's never too late for flowers."

He smiles like he can't wait for the wonderful surpise he's going to give her and nods, "I'll think about it. Now, before Arlene has my head, what can I get you?"

I nod my head as I repeat the usual, "TruBlood, O- please."

His face suddenly goes very dark and his eyes get very wide but not the happy wide that they were before and he starts to pull away from me slowly like he's trying to get away from a rattlesnake he sees in the forrest. He stands to his feet and in a morose manner nods, "Comin' right up."

I feel this gross sinking feeling in my stomach and I glance around the room and still there are eyes on me. Is it because I'm a vampire? But what's wrong with being a vampire? The humans at _Fangtasia_ didn't look at me this way and even Hugo was really nice and Molly and Bob. Why are they looking at me like I'm a freakshow now?

"Here's your TruBlood," an angry voice in another accent snaps as the TruBlood is angrily placed onto my table.

I look up and see it's the Tara girl Sam had mentioned and I know she's jealous cause maybe she thinks we were flirting but I don't want her to be mad! So quickly I call out, "Excuse me?"

And she stops in place, snapping, "Sam'll be right back. I'm sure you can take up your complaint with hi-"

"I just wanted to say that I really like your shirt," I compliment because it's the truth. It's a nice peach color with spaghetti straps and against her dark skin it makes her stand out and it shows off the smoothness. Maybe I should be telling her this? I will! "It's such a nice color and it really shows off your pretty skin and it kind of makes you look like a flower."

I can immediately see the change in her entire posture and I can't help but to see her grin and soften. Tentatively she looks at me and stammers, "Th-Thank you."

"And I just want to say that I think you and Sam make a really cute couple and I know you guys aren't official yet but the way he smiled when he talked about you...well..he really likes you," for some reason I start to laugh because suddenly she has the same smile and the same blush he had before.

"Yuh think so?" she asks, trying not to show the excitement in her voice but it's too late because I already see it in her eyes.

I nod my head, showing the excitment she wont, "Yeah! A blind man can see it from...ten miles away!"

"Well," she sighs angrily, getting back into her defensive stance, "That sucks. I just yelled at him cause I thought he was flirtin' with you."

I shoo her off with my hand, immediantly getting her into an action position, "Well go talk to him. What do you think you're doing? Go, go, go!"

"Alright, alright," she smiles and turns around quickly and disappears to the back.

I grin happily with myself because it looks like the night is starting to look up all over again. I take a quick look around for Sookie but instead I see everyone is still staring at me. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe it's not because I'm a vampire. Maybe it's just because I look so young compared to everyone else here. Maybe that's it. Yeah, it has to be. And plus I'm unaccompanied like Sam said. I pop open my TruBlood and can already tell from first whiff that it's not O-, it's A+. I try not to groan but I can't help it. I hate that flavor because it's already sweet and I don't know how to give it any flavor without making it TOO sweet. I decide there's nothing I can really do but drink it but hey! Maybe that's why Sam looked that way! Maybe he knew they had run out of O- but he didn't want to disappoint me. Yeah, that's definitely it! These people really can't be upset because I'm a vam-

"Whatta ya think yur doin' here, Fanger?"

I turn around slightly and look up to see a group of five men crowding around me. I'm confused by them and their presence. They look like they're joking, like they're amusing themselves but I can't help but to interpret the main guy's voice in an aggressive tone. I look at their faces, one by one, and memorize them as I breathe in their scents that are heavily mixed with alcohol and some other substance. What's a 'Fanger?'

The main guy detaches from the group and rests his fingers onto the table as he repeats, "I said: whatta ya think yur doin' here, Fanger? This heres a HUMAN establishment. Yur kind ain't welcum."

With each word of his last sentence he pushed my bottle of TruBlood closer and closer to the edge until he reached the end half of "Welcome." It was at that point he pushed it over the edge and let it shatter on the floor. I don't jump at the sound of the shattering glass that echoes for miles in each direction. Instead my muscles get tight, really tight, and I become the statue of calm composure that Godric always conducts himself with. I ball my fist up tight into my lap too to stop from the shakes that won't happen because I don't really shake so much anymore. I turn my eyes forward and stare at the empty seat in front of me and remember what my grandpa taught me about selfdefence against men: a man's most sensitive body parts are his eyes, his groin, and his instep. Too bad I'm not wearing high heels.

"Looks like we got a shy one here fellas. We g-"

"Alright, Castles. I'ma need you and your friends to get out in five seconds," a strong voice says and I look up to see two men standing at my defence. One-the one who spoke-has long slicked-back hair and holds a broom and the other looks so strong and muscular with the same dark skin and the same angry expression as Tara. The second one looks quite fierce and terrifying but the trouble is, while the second looks like a lion ready for prey in the jungle the other looks like a teddy bear waiting to be cuddled. Not to mention while the lion has rock solid muscle all over the teddy bear's spasms are visible, if only to me.

"If it isn't Nut Job Terry, escape from the Looney Bin," one of the guy snickers while another one shouts, "An' the queer Lafayette!"

They can't talk to them like th-!

Stop.

I have to control myself. I have to relax. If I don't...If I don't.

The group laughs but Castles-could that be the Castles Ginger was talking about?-smirks and steps up to who must be Terry, "What're yuh gonna do? Army Bitch?"

The spasms completely stop and Terry turns into something strange, more machine than man as he threatens, "Just wait and find out."

"Hey, Hey, Hey!"

A man tall, VERY tall, suddenly gets in the middle and pushes Terry and Castles apart. If Terry's a teddy bear than this guy is a new born baby giraffe. He looks so adorable but frightened as he awkwardly tries to mediate the tension that is brewing on my behalf and by the confused look on his face I can tell he just walked in and has no idea this is all about me.

"There ain't no reason to fight. What ever the problem is here I'm sure we can square away like gentlemen," he offers.

"Sure, mama's boy," Castles smirks before he turns around to motion to me, "Just string up dat pretty lil vamper on one athose big trees you got out here."

"Now that ain't called for!" It's Arlene's tiny little high pitched voice that interjects and she steps in front of him waving a dirty rag in his face as she yells, "You just leave that poor girl alone! She's been here for all of five minutes and you're tryin' to lynch her like we're back in the 1800s or somethin'!"

The funny thing is she's not alone. As soon as she stepped into the mix a man with a gotee and the same color shirt as Hoyt stepped before her to protect her like a bodygaurd...but more like a boyfriend. I think to myself...this has to be over. It's just a funny display of little Arlene shouting behind him and waving her rag that they can't possibly still be angry...But they can be. Out of nowhere Sam has appeared with Tara at his side and suddenly everything is out of perspective and frightening.

As if he senses how much things have changed he hisses through gritted teeth.

"Wish it were. At least then we ain't had no _vampires_ or _niggers_."

Screams.

I open my eyes and see that I'm holding Castles up by his neck and my fangs are out and I can feel his hatred pouring into me like an endless spring. I growl angrily as I hold onto his tight, "I can take a lot of things, Castles. I'm a very tolerable vampire, unlike most. I can sit there and take you trying to intimidate me with whatever insults you made up long after your mama tucked you and I can even sit patiently as you drop my TruBlood on the ground and make an ass out of yourself. But what I can not take, what just doesn't sit right with me is the word you used in that last sentence back there. I'm not a particularly angry vampire and I don't stay mad for long, I can get over most things pretty quickly. But when I hear that word...I just _snap. _Now I've never killed a human before but as far as I'm concerned backwoods trash like you shouldn't really be considered human at all. Now I'm going to let you go because I don't really want any trouble. I'm only passing through. But if you ever say that word again..well...I just don't know what I'll do."

I lower Castles onto the ground and watch as his friends grab him and pull him out of _Merlotte's _ with firey eyes that promise revenge. But I don't really care. My mother and my father taught me before anything else that word is never acceptable. They taught me to stand against that word and people that use it. And even though I'm a vampire now I'm not going to forget that.

I turn around and face the people that tried to defend me, amongst all the others, and I blush saddly as I look down, "I'm sorry everyone for ruining your evening. I didn't want to start any trouble, I promise. I'll leave right this instant."

The doors suddenly open and I look up with certainty that Castles has come back for a rematch but instead I see a tall EXTREMELY handsome and disheveled and exhausted and sweaty guy stumble in. He stops and looks around with wide confused eyes that look so familiar and he asks, "What'd I miss?"

The room suddenly errupts into a laughter that can only be caused by high anxiety suddenly broken. Lafayette suddenly reaches over and grabs my shoulder gingerly as Arlene loops her arm around my neck, "Too much, Stackhouse. Way too much."

Stackhouse?

I look up at his dizzying smile and into his brown eyes where it all makes sense.

This is Sookie's brother.


	24. Chapter 24

N/A: I would just like to clear up that at this point Amy and Adele are dead. Jason had been taken in by the police for Amy's murder, causing Sookie to go to _Fangtasia _for the first time and look around for anyone who had seen the murdered girls. Like the show her and Bill get into a fight and she gets dropped off at _Merlotte's _when Sam takes her home and they find Adele. Because of the murder Jason is released where he acts out against Sookie while his addiction to 'V' enters a very destructive phase. This is where Jason celebrates his second day out of jail and Amie know's none of this.

At the largest table in _Merlotte's_ I sit between Sam and Lafayette and across from Jason who listens with wide amused eyes as everyone fills in details about the event that happened just before his arrival. Although it's fun and it's exciting and and I've never felt so comfortable in my life there's something sad about the people that fit in to make up the giant puzzle that is Bon Tempts. But off all the pieces Jason Stackhouse is the roughest one. I stare at him as he nods his head and watches and I can't help but to find something odd about the way his eyes jump from face to face and from corner to corner and the way his knee bobs constantly and his hands that rub over each other and shake as they grip onto the cold beer in his grip. He looks like Sookie in all the ways he should but there's a darkness in him that drifts from his pours and it's a smell I recall from Castels and his partners. I don't like it. But still I want to care for him so much.

Especially when he laughs. It's a genuine laugh like the one a baby gives when relatives come to make funny faces and the way the people here tell their stories it's no so different. It's twenty minutes before closing so no one minds that they're loud and excited as they overexaggerate my strength and my speed. They play musical chairs with their seats, Sam switching with Tara or Lafayette switching with Terry while Alrene comes to add something in passing. The constants at the table are me, Jason, and Hoyt. Rene works to help Alrene with heavy boxes and the others walk around in the middle of closing up and taking a break over a nice pitcher of beer. I sit quietly and sip my TruBlood and bathe in what seems to be a first time affair for all of them and I enjoy the fact that it all started because of me.

There's a pause in the conversation though where everyone seems to take a sip of beer and I use it to speak up. I look around at everyone and say, "Thank you guys so much for defending me. Really. You didn't have to do that at all. It really means so much to me that you put yourselves in harms way for me."

"Shiiit, girlfriend, I been lookin' for a reason to get my hands on that racist redneck," Lafayette smiles, batting his lashes like he's relishing in the memory of Castles and his friends filled with fear at the possibility of what I could do.

"Me too!" Arlene agrees, "They always stare at my ass and worst of all they don't tip!"

"You ain never told me that," Rene says, looking to Arlene with boyfriendly concern. She gives a little 'Oops' face that makes me laugh as she scampers away for him to chase.

"I just wish I knew what was happening when I walked in. I wouldna tried to break it up. I just thought it was a misunderstandin' or something," Hoyt tried to explain but it was really silly because he didn't need to explain.

I shake my head softly, "You were doing the right thing. I didn't want anyone to fight over me. I wanted to stop them too but I was just...afraid I might go a little too far."

"I don't mean to be rude, Amie, but you said you were sixteen. Now...how long have you.. been sixteen?" Sam asks with that same dark look over his face he got over his face when he left my table for the first time.

I drop my eyes to the table in front of me, shaking my head tentatively as I decline, "It's a long story..."

"Come on, you've been listenin' to us go on and on all night. It's time we step back and take a listen," Hoyt smiles in an urging manner, coaxing me to go on with a genuinly interested smile.

How can I say no to that little baby giraffe? I look around the table and meet their expant eyes, all of them too since everyone has decided it's story time. I don't want to be the downer, especially since Jason looks to be down enough. But they put themselves at risk to protect me. The least I can do is be honest...So I am. I tell the story, my story, and even though I try not to cry I can't help but to as I begin with my grandpa and I talk about the horrible place that I seem to remember more now more than I'd like to and I cry harder as I talk about how Godric saved me, but I leave out his name and call him just my maker, because I think of my letter and how the last time he talked to me he yelled at me so bad and Eric was right because I am a shame and then I talk about how happy I was because he said he loved me and he protected me and then how he had to leave me and I leave out Pam and Eric and instead I just say that I got a horrible job at _Fangtasia_ because it's kind of true and then I tell them about how I met Sookie and that's why I came to look for her tonight.

I dab at my tears, making sure not to smear, before looking up and seeing everyone's faces. I am the downer. Everyone looks so sad and even Arlene is crying and no one looks like they know what to say and I feel so awful for ruining it all. I look down again and decide I've ruined their evening enough for one night but suddenly Tara says, "Shoot. I thought I had it bad with no daddy and my mama livin' in the bottle. I don't know how you can do it and still be sweet as a button."

"This isn't a time for jokes," Arlene sobs, wrapping her arms around my neck as she cries over me. It's funny because she feels even sadder about the situation than I do and it happened to me!

I look up for help because she's really holding me but Rene, looking down and not meeting my eye, explains, "We got a little girl and boy home with the babysitter."

Alrene suddenly goes erect as if she remembers, "My babies! Come on Rene! We got to go!"

I laugh softly as she grabs her coat and pulls him out of his seat and out of _Merlotte's_ with out time to do more than a nod as his goodbye. Terry is the next to speak and he rests his hand on my shoulder, back to the jittery version of him that must be normal, "You are so brav-"

He begins to cry too as he leans his head forward and I quickly rush to hug him, gently like I'm hugging a bubble, "Oh, don't cry!"

"There ain't no need to cry. We should celebrate the fact that this survivor has come into our lives and has taught us, Tara," Lafayette says, pointing daggers at who I found out was his cousin, " that though great tragedies way block the sun, that don't mean it won't shine."

I look up at Lafayette in amazement and Hoyt takes the words right out of my mouth, "That was beautiful, Lafayette. You know you're right. I'm sicka sittin' here feeling sorry for myself because I may not be as handsome or charming as some other guys and waitin' for a girl to come my way. I'm gonna go out and take life by the horns!"

Jasob shouts, "Fuck yeah!"

But Tara rolls her eyes, "I ain't got no idea why you throwin' my name in there Lafayette. That ain't got nothing to do with me."

"Hooke-"

"I think he just means that you should be a little more open to new experiences," I interupt, not wanting the two of them to get into a dispute. But I also take this time to look between her and Sam who sits beside her but nearly close enough to touch.

"No hold on there. Tara's open!" Sam defends but all it does is make everyone else at the table laugh, even him and Tara.

"Alright," Tara sighs, "I guess I can try. But not tonight. I am _way_ too tired to be anythin' but cranky."

"Yeah, I'm gonna hear it when I get home," Hoyt huffs as he checks his watch. I can't help but to feel a sense of panic as everyone gets up and Tara and Sam begin to grab the bottles that are emptied. Where am I going to go?

"Amie," I look to see Jason talking to me but he doesn't say my name quite right. He says my name like 'Amy' but I don't really have the heart to correct him because there's something about the shiver in his voice as he says 'Amy' that makes me too sad to do anything. "I can drive you over to see Sookie if you'd like. I, uh, was plannin' on heading over to check on her after this anyhow. If you ain't got anywhere to go I know she'd love to let you stay with us."

My eyes start to tear up slightly as I look up at him. His brown eyes are round and sincere and tragic and although he is so young and handsome he just looks so old and worn down. And the simple fact that he's still trying to help me...even though he looks so sad. I can't help but I smile softly as I nod, "That would be so awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I didn't even know that my arms were around him until I took in a deep breath of his scent. His scent is mixed and foggy with that darkness that I find so gross but deep down I can smell something pure that I extract and endure and it digs deep into me and I can recall it vividly but from where? I can't put a finger on it. He pats my back awkwardly as he chuckles, "It's no big deal. Come on."

"Wait! Can we all take one last picture together?" I ask as I pull away, stopping Jason from leaving just yet.

They all let out a loud groan and I laugh. I had been taking pictures of them, with them, near them all night to document my new friends and it seems the flash has been a little too much for their eyes. Sam answers, "Fine. But this is the LAST one. You're givin' Terry flashbacks!"

I can't help but to laugh as I see Terry looking behind his shoulder nervously. I take the camera off and I set the timer and place it on the bar facing us. We all get together, making sure to smush and that I'm in the middle, before another great big FLASH fills the room and my first night in the open is cemented in history. I grab the camera before giving everyone a great big hug and following Jason outside. We're the first ones to get out of there and outside with the night so dark and the parking lot nearly empty it looks like a completely different place.

"Fuck," Jason grunts and I turn to him in shock. He starts jogging backwards inside, "I forgot my damn keys."

I smile softly and shake my head because Jason is so silly and as I shift my weight from foot to foot I can't help but to think that maybe theirs hope for him. He's such a sweet person, deep down inside and even outside it's evident what a wonderful person he really is. A giddiness kind of grows in me as I think about how great it's going to be to hang out with him AND Sookie at the same time. We're going to have so much fun!

Tap.

I turn around to see who tapped my shoulde-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH!"

...

"You know, Pam, as soon as I woke up this evening I knew it was going to be a fantastic night," Eric smirked as he opened the front door and stepped through the threshold. He walked in carelessly with no worry that Amie would try to attack him. His hired babysitters had informed him that she had been taking a shower all night. He and Pam had tried to figure out if it was a concern or not but they had ultimately agreed it was an attempt on her part to raise his water bill as some sort of revenge.

"What was it that made it so fantastic?" Pam asked as she unpinned her hair and let it fall past her shoulders, "The three thousand dollars that human couple spent for that picture? The two hundred that wealthy politician paid to reserve the place for his daughters 21st birthday? Or last, but certaintly not least, could it have been the four hundred Bill Compton spent to have us look at a pretty picture with the added bonus of Sookie Stackhouse running off to have a spat with her brother?"

A soft chuckle escaped Eric's throat that was both amused and satisfied. Pam smiled as she looked at Eric, it wasn't very often he laughed so freely like that, she knew when she had to enjoy it. He turned his attention to her with his a fond smile as if he were remembering the events, "I believe it was the last one that put the cherry on top. Now, Pam, do you hear that? I believe that's silence I'm hearing."

Pam let out a little smile while he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack. She waited for him to look to her before she rolled her eyes, "We should _always _return to a silent hous- Eric."

Half way through the eye roll, Pam's sight caught the little note paper on the staircase and without her knowledge her breath had been taken away. Instantly Eric tensed as if to prepair for danger but he knew there was none, their home was secure. But the problem wasn't the presence of danger..it was the absence of it. Eric unwillingly followed Pam's gaze and found the note paper waiting for them. He took up the note that was written in soft childlike handwriting and knew it could only belong to one person: Amiena.

Eric read it to himself while Pam read over his shoulder: _"Dear E & P, Thanks for the TruBlood, the sugar, and the hospitality. I've decided to get out of your hair, even though I'm not really sure what I did to make you so angry. I doubt you'll try to find me but if there is the tiniest chance you do please stop your search before it begins. You were right when you said I was a shame to the family and it's probably better that I not be apart of it. Maybe we'll run into each other a thousand years down the line and maybe we can be friends then. But if not. I still want you both to have a nice life. -Amiena"_

The letter slipped from his fingers and cascaded to the ground like the feather of a wounded bird. Amiena was gone. As soon as the realization came clear across their shared mind thoughts began to bounce around and create a stream of conciousness that had one theme. She was in trouble. There was no doubt. A panic took hold of both of them and they began to pace past each other as they remembered the ensanguinated bodies found and rolled to their doorsteps as if warnings that there would be more blood. They remembered the increase of human related violence toward vampires and the increase of V being distributed on the streets. They could imagine how she would look wandering the streets with her wide blue eyes both terrified and filled with wonder. She was a sitting duck out there. They would pluck her like the vulnerable flower she was.

"This is all your fault," Eric snapped, grabbing Pam's elbow as she passed him on her rotation and pulling her to a rough hault.

"Bullshit!" Pam hissed, her eyes burning holes up at him as she spat out, "The shit you said last night was uncalled for and you know it! If someone said that to me I'd stake them in their fucking sleep!"

He twisted her arm, causing her to grunt in pain but she bit her lip to keep in her noise, "Are you blaming me?"

"No!" she shouted but her eyes proved otherwise.

"Good. Because as I recall you have gone against my orders and have been instigating quarrels this WHOLE time!" his voice rose over her own just as his eyes burned the same kind of blame against him.

Any other time Pam would give in. Although she found enjoyment in their rapport she would never allow any other dispute to reach this level of intensity. But this was different. She screamed louder, pushing forward and causing more stress on her elbow, "I'm the only one that talked to her! Since dropped her into our fucking lap all you've been doing is barking orders and ruining any chance that poor girls had at having fun!"

He pushed her forward so hard she fell into the door that buckled under her but did not break, "Don't you ever speak to me in that tone!"

She shivered under his voice but still she didn't give in, "What did Godric say?!"

He lifted his hand to strike her, "What did I say about speaking his name in that tone!"

And yet she did not recoil under it. Instead she lifted her face up higher and screamed, "Go ahead and hit me but it doesn't change the fact you couldn't put your fucking jealousy aside to treat her the way she needed to be treated! He told you she was sensitive! I didn't break your fucking rules! You broke his!"

That was it.

Eric turned away from her, his eyes wide as he gazed into the distance to recall how he had brutally screamed at her for a mistake she had made in childlike innocence. But it wasn't his fault. Although she had broken every rule Godric had created himself she had still gone unpunished. How was it justified that she got away with a slap on the wrist when every aspect of his personality had been taught with force? Even as he thought the question he knew the answer. It was because he could take it.

The strange feeling that had consumed Pam as soon as she saw the letter began to dawn upon Eric as the answer filled his mind. Pam rushed to Eric and comforted, "You had no choice. She was uncontrolable. What else were you supposed to do? We were trying to protect her from the humans out here but she wouldn't listen. We did the best we could!"

"Our best wasn't good enough!" Eric screamed, pulling away from her and continuing to look away as the guilt festered. But he couldn't stay away for long. He turned back to her and she fell into his arms, wrapping her own around his middle loosely as he wrapped his own.

"We can't do anything about what we did," Pam began to order in her strong voice that always required attention and immediate action, "We can only focus on what to do now. I'll start making some phone calls and you think of something to tell Godric when he calls."

Although Pam loved to be in charge, loved to boss people around, it always made her feel sick when she had to think of the solutions and Eric was unable to assist. But that was the wonderful thing about their relationship. When he was weak she knew it was time to take control and smooth over the situations he tended to screw up. This was definitely her time to take the reigns.

But still. In her calculations she had left out a very important fact. How could Eric lie to the vampire that taught him how to lie in the first place? What lie would there be to make him accept the fact that he could not communicate with Amie when it was something he required on a nightly basis. There wasn't! He had to think of som-

Like an electric current an agonizing pain surged through their bodies, causing them to grip each other in unison as they gritted their teeth to bear what ever it was that was hurting them! So bad! It seemed to control them and fill them to the brim of their being until they felt as though they would explode and then suddenly! It was gone.

Pam held onto Eric tightly, tears spilling out of her eyes as she shook, "Eric! What was that! Fuck! What was it?!"

But Eric couldn't speak. The only answer that popped into his brain was the only that had popped into hers. Silver spray. Amiena had been captured.

As if on que Eric's cell phone began to ring and without even checking they knew who it was.

Godric.

They were in deep shit.


	25. Chapter 25

"No! No! Please! Let me go! Please! What are you doing?! What are you doing! Stop! Stop! Stop! Please!"

I see the chains they pull out from a velvet sac and it stops me for a second in my fighting but the burning on the back of my legs from the silver chair reminds me that I have to keep going! I grab the shirt of the guy holding my right arm and I throw him against the man with the bag but somehow I miss and he hits the wall and another takes his place to hold my arm.

"Shut the fuck up! Hold her down!"

Someone yells as I slip my left arm out of the guys hold and I use it to try and push myself up but my palm gets seared on the silver and the momentary weakness is enough for them to grab both my wrists and wrap silver chains around them.

"AHHHHHHHHHH! Please! It hurts so bad! Please!"

I cry as I feel it set in deep inside of my skin and burrow until it meets my bones and I feel like my muscle is melting away from the chains and I'm weak and I can't fight so hard because it hurts!

"Not so tough now are yuh, vampire bitch!"

Castles shouts, hitting me across the face and my head falls backwards and I cry as the back of my neck makes contact with the chair. I open my eyes and see another pair of chains and I start to panic so bad.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know what I was doing! I'll give you anything! PLEASE! Let me go! Letmegoletmegoletmego! NOOO! STOOOOP!"

I shriek as I kick my legs up and try to get away because I know what's next and I kick a guy in the face and smell that his nose has busted and I try to pull myself up but the chains holding my hands together weigh them down on my lap and I can't get up!

"Hold her fuckin' legs down! Grab her legs!"

Four guys jump on top of my legs and hold them in place against the chair and I shriek because it hurts so much and then the chains come and plop down on top!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I scream at the top of my lungs, feeling the silver hit every surface of my body and keeping me down and locked into place!

"Shut her up!"

Castles commands as he puts a rag to his nose but I don't stop.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I cry out again in the hopes that someone, anyone, will hear me but instead I get the opposite answer.

The punch comes down slow and drunk and I manage to pivot my head away but that ends up hurting worse than if I actually let him hit me! My facial tissue spasms making the silver lodged into my cheeks hurt worse than when I had just been screaming! And by the time the fat drunk man's first hits the silver folding chair I'm strapped into the chair collapses and I'm falling backwards and I scream as the silver hits new places on the back of my body and the chains around my wrists go falling backwards, pulling my flesh with it and the ones they dropped onto my legs droop down onto the floor and I scream! I scream so loud without even trying because this hurts so bad but the more I scream the more it hurts and then they kick me and they pull me rough and drop me back onto the seat and I can't do anything but scream for help but no one will listen!

"PLEASE! PLEEEEASE! THIS HURTS SO BAD! This HURTS! I won't say anything! I'll give you all the money you can even dream of! Please!" I beg but all I get in return is a punch, a much more calculated hit, that ingrains some more pieces into my cheek and I sob outwardly because I can feel it against my teeth and I try to keep my face still but I can't help but to move as they jerk me around!

"Hey! That's enough! You're bein' too rough!" a guy with a red beard but brown hair shouts, trying to pull someone off of me that's grabbing me by my neck.

But Castles grabs him by his jacket and shoves him hard into someone else as he yells, "Who the fuck you think you are!?"

"You're bein' too rough! She ain't like the other ones! The other's ain't cry so much! We're really hurtin' her!" He protests and I can't help but to emphasize the point with a grunt as someone's hip hits the chair and sends it skating away and me moving with it.

"Since when did you care if a vampire got fuckin' hurt?" Castles asks, advancing toward him like he's going to strike, causing the man that was defending me to back down.

He stammers, "I-I don't care, it's just she's so little! She ain't like the others she's gotta be young. She can' even be a year old!"

"When the FUCK did you become some kinda vampire conasaur?!" Castels shouts, grabbing him by his neck and shoving him against the wall.

"Stop!" I beg, jumping a little forward decpite the fact that my legs drag against the seat and cause what ever skin that had been healing to burn again.

"What? And give up all this fun?! What'd y'all think?!" he motions to his friends that surround me and step back when I'm completely immobilized.

"Fuck nah!" another guy shouts but instead of hitting me does something worse and he takes the spray bottle that must belong to him and he sprays me again in the face and I scream louder than before.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SOOMEBODY HELP! PLEEASSE! AHHHHHHHHHH! SOMEONE! PLEEEEEEEASE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!" I scream but all they do is laugh and I cry so hard because it burns and it feels like my face is falling apart!

"What the fuck do you think y'all are doin'?! I can hear her screamin' from a mile away!"

I look up with pleading eyes to a woman that walks in with brown dark hair and darker eyes and she looks scary because her eyes are so big and she smells like the guys that surround me and Jason with his darkness and I know, I know she won't help but still if she can get them to stop hurting me I'll be in her debt.

"We's just havin' a little fun," Castles smirks as he walks over to her and grabs her around the waist. She slaps him hard in the face and he retreats back like a dog and I think, maybe she'll help me.

"She don't look more than fourteen years old. Where'd you find this one?" She asks, stepping into the room and kicking away a can that goes flying past me, making me flinch and cry a little more.

"Where else? _Merlotte's._ Almost couldn' get her either. Those faggots took a likin' to her or somethin' and forced us out. If it weren' for Stackhouse," my eyes grow wide with shock as Castles continues to explain, "we'd never get 'er alone."

Jason?

He must notice my shock because he comes over to me and kneals on the ground so he can hover over me and smirk, "Yeah, betchu ain' know that Jason is workin' for us. We promised a gallon of your precious blood to that fuckin' addict and waited for that piece o' shit to do all the work. "

I shake my head even though it burns so much, I grit my teeth and whisper so I don't have to move my face, "You're lying. I don't believe you."

As I was speaking his pinky finger had been dragging down my arm until it reached the link in one of the chains. He began to pick it up and I squeeze my eyes shut because it hurts so much, "Yull find out the truth when he comes to collect his reward."

"Enough fuckin' around, dickhead. Let's get this shit goin'," the girl barks and before I can see what's happening the chains are pulled off so hard like a bandaid pealing away my skin and I scream but the girl suddenly grabs a rag and shoves it in my mouth and I bite down hard but I still scream as they pull my arms apart and place them on the arm rests with the my palms facing up and I fight with my arms and I try to hit them and grab them but I'm so weak from pain and they have three men working on each arm to tie me down with silver.

The girl grabs two plastic gallons from behind me and tosses them to the men at my sides and I spit out the rag as I shout to her, "Please! Please help me! I'll give you anything you want! Please! Help me!"

"Shut up!" she orders as she grabs the rag again and pushes it back into my mouth.

I try to pull up and get free but it's like a stronger force than I have ever encountered is binding the silver to my body and stopping me from getting away. I look up at the men and see two holding a long needle attached to a thick tube like the ones the nurses use when they're taking blood. I start to shake violently because I'm so scared and I don't know what they're going to do and they hold me down but I can't stop staring with wide eyes as they slip the needles into my arm with such force I feel viens burst and pop and I shriek so loud, as loud as I can, as I feel like my life is draining out of me! I look down and see that my blood start to flow through the tubes and land in the plastic gallons waiting at my sides and I feel so sick because what are they doing with my blood! And I feel like I'm going to throw up and I feel like everything is getting dark but suddenly Castles is at my side and he shakes me away with a smirk.

"Don' yuh dare shut yuhr eyes. This ain't even the best part," He says as he turns away and I look around to see the room has been nearly emptied except for him and the girl.

She's leaning over one of the gallons that's almost already full and she has an eye dropper that she's using to suck up the liquid and I feel so sick because as I watch her hold the dropper over her mouth and drop one drop in. Her eyes suddenly sky rocket like balloons and she stumbles slightly, almost falling over, as she starts to smile so wide and giggle. Castles laughs as he grabs her and kisses her hard on the mouth, something I'm sure she'd never let happen if she wasn't acting so crazy...and why is she acting so crazy? What is my blood doing to her? I hear random noises like gasps of excitements and random slurs and I know the others are upstairs or out in the other room acting the same way...Is this what they wanted me for? Is my blood a drug? Does all vampire blood give humans the same reaction?

Castles takes the dropper from the girl and he looks into my eyes as he puts the whole thing in his mouth and sucks it all up. Is eyes don't so much as sky rocket like the girl's; instead his recede into his head and he starts to do this weird motion like he's walking on the moon or something and his mouth is so wide like in shock and he blinks rappidly as he whispers, "This...this is...I've never had anything like this...this we...we gotta keep you forever...we can't let you go...this...this is amazing."

A jumps into a straigt postion like a jolt has run through him and suddenly he starts to sway his body as he grabs the girl and starts to push her against the wall and kiss her hard like he's an animal and she's a doll. I try to get out, to help her, but I'm so weak and I tell my body to move but it only moves a fraction of a little bit and the girl doesn't move either and it's like her body is asleep but her eyes are opened wide and shooting over all over the place and he starts to rip her clothes off and I scream, "HELP! SOMEONE STOP HIM! STOP HIM! HELP!"

But no one listens and instead the one the tried to hit me and another guy trickle into the room and they start to laugh and make these gross noises like guerillas or something and they grab her and start to pull on her and drag her into the other room and I try to move again to help but I can't because I'm stuck and I shut my eyes so tight and try to go to sleep again and I think about Godric and his wonderful smile and the way his lips felt when they kissed mine and how his fingers felt intertwined with my fingers and his laugh and how delicious the TruBloo was that he made me but I can't and I can hear them on her and breathing hard and shouting weird gross things and I start to sob violently because I'm back in my little cell again stuck behind bars listening to what's happening upstairs or what's happened behind doors and there's nothing I can do and there's no way I can save them and I know I'm stuck here until they kill me and I really, really hope for death.

But death doesn't come this time.

Instead I'm stuck listening to the monsters outside and to try to get my attention somewhere else I focus on the gallons that are filling up with my blood and waiting for them to spill over or something. He said they have to keep me forever and they can't ever let me go. I can't stay here, if I stay here I'm going to die. I look around the room for a wooden stake or something and if I can get my hands on one of those then maybe I can meet the True Death and I don't have to worry about staying in this awful place and listening to the awful things they do and hoping they don't do them to me. But there are no stakes here but the more I inspect the more I see things I don't like, like little mini bottles of TruBlood and cardboard and newspaper covering the windows and some old blood stains that suggest that this isn't the first time this has happened and they have no intention of it being their last.

Rubber squeaking gets my attention and I look to see the man with the red beard come in. It must have been an hour since Castles and his friends finished off the girl but I can still hear them making drug induced noises. But this one doesn't look or sound like they do, he looks like he's in his right mind but if he's hanging with these guys I don't know how right that is. I cringe a little, making sure not to move my face, as I shrink inside myself and try to become the little ball that I used to love. But his eyes are on me and although he tried to defend me I don't know what he's going to do.

He stands in the room, nervously rubbing his hands on his jeans as he looks around. His eyes are like a bluish sea-green or something and it looks like at one point he could have been handsome but years doing...this...must have stolen his innocence. His eyes suddenly focus on the door and he quietly shuts it before returning to his nervous position looking around. I notice that he doesn't look at my face and I can imagine it's because I look like a monster that no one could ever love. Not even Godric, not anymore.

He suddenly opens his mouth and says as if to explain himself, "I don' really trust vampires."

"Well I don't trust humans," I snap angrily, allowing my fangs to come out in the same breath so he can see how upset I am. It seems to work because he's jumped away from me and looks to be shaking. I pop my fangs back into my mouth and look away again.

"W-Well...A-Are you hungry?" he whispers in a voice so quiet like he doesn't want anyone to listen.

I don't answer him. Instead I keep my eyes on his boots that are speckled with my blood and I wonder how many times he's had to clean those boots. He walks from his place and he grabs the minibottles and a straw and begins to make his way to me but I turn my face in the other direction. I try not to cry but suddenly I'm so furious and upset and I don't think I can trust him, even if he is being so nice.

"Come on...I..I know you gotta be hungry," he says, a little stronger in his voice but I'm still not going to be nice to him if he has no intention of letting me go.

"I'm exhausted," I snap at him, jutting my chin in his direction although my eyes won't meet his because like a dog I'm not going to give him any respect for what he's doing to me.

"H-Here, let me take these out," he says to himself and I let out a little whimper as he yanks the needles from my arms and it's like I'm in a completely different mood. I look over to him and watch as he closes the gallons and moves them away with the needles over them. Suddenly the TruBlood smells so good because I'm aboslutely starving. He comes back and sits on the ground beside me, starting to look a little bit calmer as he picks up the little bottle and positions the straw at my lips. I open my mouth and begin to drink and I can instantly feel engery return to me and the skin that isn't touching the silver heal. He seems to notice my transformation because he relaxes and works up the courage to ask, "How old are you?"

I finish drinking the TruBlood before I look up at him and answer, "Sixteen."

"How long you been sixteen?" he asks, putting down the empty bottle behind my seat and resting his hands onto his legs.

"Since March," I suddenly feel a wave of nautiousness flow over me and I think I might throw up if I don't calm myself and take a few seconds to breathe.

"When'd you become a vampire?" his eyes look nervous and they look sad like he's going to cry and I try to focus on his eyes as I get all dizzy and they work at keeping everything a little still but then they start to confuse me.

"A few weeks ago, it hasn't even been a month," I say as I see a wave of disgust flow over his features and turn them nearly upside down and there in his face I can nearly see him become handsome how he used to be.

"Who did this to you?" his voice turns scary and angry and I know he's thinking that vampires are to blame for my transformation but I have to explain the opposite.

"My friend's father. He kidnapped me on my birthday and sold me to men who made me and other girls do horrible things and watch awful stuff and if we didn't we'd get hurt. They were human men and they thought to do horrible stuff to us human girls and when we tried to escape they hunted us like we were animals and when I was just about to die a vampire came and rescued me. If you're looking for a vampire to blame you won't find one in my situation," my voice has become like his because as I explain I see that humans have done nothing good to me. The only time I'm ever hurt is at a human's hand with the expetion of a few jerky vampires along the way. Maybe Eric and Pam and Stan and the others are right. Maybe humans shouldn't be protected.

He swallows hard and looks down as he whispers, "Four years ago...my big sister started dating some fuckin' vampire. My parents didn't agree with it so they kicked her out...but still she kept lettin' him in. One night while I was at my friend's house and everyone was asleep he and his friends snuck into the house and drunk my parents dry and then he took my sister and she was missin' for two years. They found her in a dumpster up by that vampire bar and she was no more than 25lbs and she had not even a drop of blood left in her body."

"I'm sorry," I whisper as I look down and think about his story...maybe it's not just vampire that are awful. Maybe behind every vampire-hating human is a vampire that made him that way. I feel suddenly gross because of how I could think before, like Pam and Eric and Stan, how could I think that humans are less than us? How could I even fathom that idea when I was human not so long ago? How could I forget about the human friends I've made on this trip when faced with a handful of human enemies?

"She had the same kinda hair as you," he mutters under his breath and suddenly it makes sense why he was staring at me so intently and trying to protect me before. He sighs heavily before looking at me, "I'm Randy."

"I'm Amiena," I smile weakly, looking up at him and thinking about how different he is compared to all the others that are drunk off of my blood.

"Well..Amiena...," he says my name firmly and strong as he begins to pull off the chains that hold my air, "I'm gonna help you escape."

My eyes shoot open with excitement and I can't help but to grin despite the pain and I start to cry a little as I whisper, "Thank you, thank you so much. Please. Thank you!"

I grit my teeth with happiness as he strips away the first chain and the skin starts to grow back pigment by pigment despite my discomfort. He leans over me and I can smell the blood pumping nervously in his neck veins but I don't even think about it because he's pulling off the next chain and the searing fills the air and my body but still I'm so excited. He smiles, "Don' worry about it. You shouldn' even be here in the first pla-"

I see the gun before I see the person holding it and I scream to inform Randy of Castles behind him, "RANDY!"

But the bullet is already in the air and he's still finishing his sentece when I reach my hands to his chest and I push him back against the wall but what I didn't see was the second bullet already leaving the chamber and Randy's flying through the air too far away for me to grab and I try to jump from the chair and my fingertips are in his hair and he's reaching for me and then BOOM!

I try not to breathe through my mouth but I'm shaking so hard with the fresh blood against my face and all over me and spilling on the floor. I feel vomit working its way up my throat as I feel the freezing cold hit my bones and I open my eyes to see Cally's skull broken open with her brains sprinkled on the white blanket of snow. I reach forward and try to push the mush that is her skull back together but all it does is slip through my fingers and fall back onto the cement ground where Randy had just been knealing to try and help me out. I open my mouth to scream but suddenly I hear a deep and light heartbeat that's quickly fading and I think back to when Godric saved me and all I remember is the pain of him biting me and then having to drink his blood and I look down at my wrist that is still not completely healed and I put it to the mix of what should be his mouth and I scream, "Drink! Drink Randy!"

And his quivering mangaled lips start to drink as the drops fall into his mouth and I use my nail to cut a longer line and more starts to spill and I cry out happily as his face and his slowly start to come together and he's going to make it! He's really going to make it but then I hear a movement and I turn around in time for Castles to smack me away with the butt of his gun and I fall backwards and I cry because the chains around my ankles still burn and I try to pull on Randy but he's too far away and then Castles smirks as he stands over Randy and leans over to press his gun against his heart and I reach up at him and I try to grab him but I'm still weak and I reach for Randy's head to pull him away and just when I get a good grip BOOM!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I shriek, holding onto Randy and holding him against me as the fresh blood fills my nostrils and my mouth and my throat and begs me to drink, "NOOOO! NOO!"

I press my wrist to his mouth but there's no heartbeat and there's no anything and I think if I had just bitten him and did it right like Godric did he could be a vampire like me and I could take care of him if I just done it right if I had just done it the right way but I sob out loud as I squeeze him against my chest but the more I squeeze the more blood comes out and I'm so hungry and I can't help but to cry as my fangs sink into his arm because I'm so hungry and the blood is everywhere and it's fresh and it fills my body and it makes me strong and I can feel the silver in my face dropping out and the blood is so pure and that happy blackhole is open again and it sucks up everywhere that I am and it transports back into Godric's arms and I can breathe for the first time I can breathe!

An-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHH!"

The silver hits my face again and I jump backwards and for some reason I fall into the chair and I'm surrounded by silver and I'm trapped in it and I'm drowning and the silver comes again onto my face and it doesn't stop until I'm wearing a mask of it everywhere and I scream so loud I feel like my lungs will explode until the silver stops and the bottle is empty and then the chains are back on my wrist and I feel the tubes back in my veins and I feel my life leave again and I'm all alone and the night is leaving soon and I'm all alone and no one can save me now.


	26. Chapter 26

I stayed up for the rest of the night to watch Castles and some random goons dispose of the body that used to be Randy. I watched them angrily as they wrapped him up in bubble wrap and made the plan to go somewhere and let the crocs have at him. It was a disgusting idea but what was more disgusting was the fact that I could have saved him. If I had turned him into a vampire we could have gotten away from all this and we could live together as mother and son, father and daughter, brother and sister, as friends and maybe we could have stayed in Bon Tempts and I could have worked as a waitress at _Mertotte's_ and maybe him a cook or a bartender or something. But no...I couldn't do it...I didn't know how to do it...and he was going to the crocs but that idea was better than leaving him here with me and the hunger his blood had awakened. For so long I had been such a good girl and I hadn't even thought about drinking human blood but now as each person walked past all I could think was how delicious the blood would taste as soon as it hit the air. At that point I'd burn myself against the silver and remind myself that I am better than them, I am better than those that would take away a person's life without a second thought. I am better than the killers that surround me.

But morning came faster than I had expected.

The sun peaks around the cardboard that's supposed to block it out and it threatens to land on me and I'm not afraid. I deserve to be in this kind of torture because if it weren't for me and my daring escape Randy would still be alive and I wouldn't be in this mess. If I didn't go down into the basement with James...if I didn't warn the girls about my bad, bad feeling...if I didn't go inside to use the bathroom...there are so many things I could have done differently. There are so many other roads I could have walked along. But I had to choose this.

A yawn escapes my mouth and I suppose I should get some sleep before the men return and start to fill up more gallons with my blood. With the way they were talking about how great the high is that never goes down I know I'm not going to leave any time soon. I might as well get used to the pain that is my punishment.

But when I close my eyes I don't get the dreamless sleep I hope for.

Instead I dream of Godric and his disapproving stare. He's watching me from high up on some throne with Eric and Pam at his flanks and I'm in a Roman Arena like I'm some sort of gladiator. And the truth is I'm dressed like one too and I have a sword that is so heavy and a sheild I can hardly pick up and I'm wearing a large helmet that makes it almost impossible to see. It's sunlight though but I don't really feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, instead I feel the sweat of heat on the back of my neck and I know I have to act.

I turn around and as if on cue a giant lion jumps at me but I jump to my side and it flies right by me. I turn around again and there's a fast, fast cheetah but I'm so much faster and as it jumps at my head I lift up the shield and it lands on top and I push it upward so the cheetah goes flying. But then when I look again I see a group of massive men like giants run toward me with the intention of creating a stampede but I don't let them kill me. I drop my sword and my shield and I throw off my helmet and I grab the lace of the first guy and I use it to climb up his leg like a spider and then I'm at his neck and I sink my teeth in and I suck up all his blood until he shrinks and I grow. The giants and the lion and the cheetah see this and while the crowd goes wild my competators are unimpressed. The lion jumps at me again but instead I slip under him and I grab at his tail while he passes over me and I jump on his back and I bite his neck and I suck his blood as he goes down and suddenly I'm so strong and I open my mouth and let out a roar that vibrates my bones and awakens my muscles and lets out the inner beast...now...now is when the others become afraid.

I set my eyes on another giant and I begin to run toward him but my stamina is like the lion and I have only short bursts before I reach exhaustion. So when I get close enough to the cheetah that doesn't think I'm going for him, I grab his large paw and I throw him against the wall and I leap out like a spider and I land on him and suck his blood and suddenly I feel it in my legs and my arms that my speed is unmatched and I know I'm the perfect killer and no one can stop me. The rest of the giants I take out with so much ease it's like they were there as a game to keep the crowd entertained. When I'm finished I look up at the crowd and they throw red roses with thorns at my feet and even Eric and Pam stand with clapping hands and adoring cheers but still Godric's eyes are disappointed and I know that I made the wrong choice. I shouldn't have fought. I was supposed to stand down.

"Shit...fuck...fuck...fuck! Fuck!"

I open my eyes to find a distraught Jason Stackhouse crying with his hands over his face and gagging like he's going to throw up. I look down at myself and instantly know that I must look worse than I thought I did last night. He keeps repeating his curse words and then he glances at me but I guess the shock of seeing me awake is too much for him and he rushes to the sink at the other end of the room and throws up into it. I turn my head away and keep my face still as I shut my eyes and try not to listen to him vomit but it's so loud and it's the only sound in the room except his increasing heart rate and it's getting so loud I'm actually scared he's going to have a heart attack.

"Fuck! Fuck!" he cries as he drops down onto his knees and looks at me in shock and fear and I know, as I look at him, I can't blame him for letting them take me. His face seems completely shrunk in and his hands shake so bad I know he's sick and I know he's hurt and I know now exactly what the problem is. He's addicted to vampire blood but unlike these monsters it's killing him and he knows it and he has no idea how to stop it.

He crawls over to my side...right where Randy had been last night...and he continues to cry as he stares at me and I feel my heart breaking because he looks like an innocent little baby and he shouldn't have this kind of saddness in him that leaks out like devistation. He shouldn't feel this kind of emotion. He should be smiling and happy and he should be laughing and making others laugh and feel good but isn't...there's something wrong. But still. I have to know, "Jason? Why did you let them take me?"

"I'm so sorry, Amie!" he chokes out and he says my name again like 'Amy' and this time I feel just too weak to correct him. He lays his head against the arm of the chair and for a second I'm scared he's going to burn too but he's human and it doesn't hurt him like it hurts me. He touches my arm but the weight of his hand pushes my arm against the silver and I flinch, causing him to pull his hand back and cry harder as he says, "I'm so sorry! Fuck! I'm so fuckin' stupid! You gotta believe me, I didn't know they were gonna do _this_ to you! They just said they were gonna blindfold you and then get two gallons of 'V' and then send you back to _Merlotte's_ you gotta believe me if I knew they were gonna hurt you I-"

"Jason," I interupt softly, looking at him and reaching my fingers up to touch his hand on the arm of the chair, "I believe you, okay? I trust you. I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose. I can see it in your eyes Jason, you're just lost and confused and you don't know what you're doing but I need you to do me a favor. Okay?"

"Fuck! I'm so stupid! Of course!" he shouts and he pulls away and picks up one of the chains.

"No!" I shout with panic because it's daylight and how am I supposed to get out with the sun up and what if the gu-! The guys!

"Shit! I'm such a fuckin' idiot! The su-"

"Jason, listen to me," I say in a strong voice, forcing his eyes to look into mine, "You are not an idiot and I never want to hear you say that again. Okay?"

His eyes water and his face starts to turn inward like he's going to cry again but he swallows it up and he nods, "Okay."

"Now I need you to go to _Fangtasia_ and tell Eric Northman where I am so he can come and save me but more importantly I need you to pretend that everything is okay. You can't let Castles know that you're upset and that you're going to rescue me because," my eyes start to tear up and I close my eyes as I spit out, "He killed Randy because he tried to help me."

"Fuck!" Jason cries out in shock, looking away in devistation, "He killed Randy? If he fuckin' killed Randy then he's gonna kill me too!"

I try to shake my head but the burning stops me and I whisper, "No. He wont. If you tell Eric he'll come and take care of it and if Eric won't help tell Sookie and ask her to get Vampire Bill to come help me."

Jason begins to shake his head, "I-I can't tell Sookie. That vampire bitch told her I was there lookin' for 'V' and now she won't talk to me because she found out that you went missin' and she thinks I had somethin' to do with it."

"You did have something to do with it," I can't help but to say but I regret it as soon as it comes out of his mouth because he looks like he's going to cry again but I interupt it again by speaking, "Jason. Just tell her that you went looking for me and you found me but that Castles and his friends are really dangerous and you can't get me by yourself. Just tell her that you need help and when the sun goes down she can get Vampire Bill to help. Okay?"

He swallows hard and nods his head, "Okay. Okay I'll do it."

"Good," my smile but it's the wrong thing to do because it hurts so bad. He see's my pain and he starts to apologize again but before he can finish I hear wheels pull up and I know it's Castles and his friends. I whisper-shout, "Jason! They're here! Grab the gallon of 'V' and start to walk out. Remember, act normal! Okay?"

He begins to shake his head but I give him puppy eyes and think with my mind 'please!' and he gets up and starts to go. He picks up the gallon behind me and walks out of the room and I close my eyes so I can hear him every step that he goes. I listen to his fast beating heart and I listen to the sweat pour down his face and the steps he takes slow and heavy up the stairs. And in contrast I hear the group of men, fat and gross, come toward him with heavy quick steps that are searching for something more that must be my blood.

I hear Castles shout, "Jason! Hey! Is it 'bout that time already?"

"Uh, yeah, you said 2 o'clock right?" he asks, sounding confused but it's better than him sounding sad.

"I guess I did. Now, yuh take it easy wit' that there. It's the best 'V' I ever fuckin' had. It hits yuh hard like right between the fuckin' eyes and in yuhr balls and it's like a crazy fuckin' ride that don't let yuh go. Yuh enjoy yuhrself and when yuhr done we'll talk 'bout how I can get yuh more," he talks slow and drawn out like he's exhausted or hitting his low point and if that's the truth he can't tell how nervous Jason really is and that's a good thing.

"Sounds good. I'm go drop this off and head back to work. I'll see you later," Jason spits out too fast to sound normal and I cringe, hoping they don't notice the awkwardness he creates as he takes quick steps to his car or truck, gets in and drives away.

I don't hear them say anything so I assume he's okay but now I have to focus on how I'm going to get through this. I sigh deeply and decide the best thing for me to do is pretend to be asleep so they don't think about hitting me or hurting me anymore. Now that they're at their low point they might start blaming me for Randy's death and they might think about taking me away from the comfort that is these four walls.

I shut my eyes as I hear them storm down the steps but contrary to what I had been expecting their conversation is strangely light hearted. They're talking about football and how Jason was really good at it until he hurt his knee or something and how he could have been really good if he wasn't so stupid. I have to calm myself at that comment because Jason isn't stupid and even if he were, these guys are the last ones to be talking. I hear them fish around me for more gallons and I grit my teeth as I anticipate the needles and the sucking motion but instead I feel a hand slap at my cheeks and I hear a deep voice say ,"Wakey, wakey."

I hear a TruBlood bottle open and instantly my eyes flash wide because it's been a long time since the last time I ate. The guy with the deep voice puts the bottle to my lips and tips the bottle back too fast and I start to choke a little and I spit some liquid out to their amusement and I try to get the rest on my chin that mixes with dried blood but all I got was a good half of the minibottle and it's not enough because I'm still so hungry. But by the way they laugh I know I'm not getting anymore so I close my eyes and pretend to go back to sleep as I wait for the needles.

They come and they're rougher than they were last night, maybe on purpose, putting in the needles to my veins. I feel the liquid leave my veins at a slow pace like it doesn't want to leave and it wants to climb back up the tube if only gravity would permit it. But gravity wont let it and instead it drips one by one into the gallon while the men watch with hunger that makes their heart beats sound like tribal drums. The way they breathe scares me because I think they're going to do to me what they did to that girl and I'm just too weak to REALLY fight back like I want to. But instead they unanimously decide to take more hits of my blood because it seems it's the most addictive brand they've come across and they decide they're going to name it "Tinkerbell" or something silly like that because it makes them feel like kids and they're never going to grow up.

When I hear them leave the room I try to open my eyes but...I begin to panic because I can't really do it. I open my lids a flash but I can't keep them up because I feel a scary sleepiness take over me but I know I'm not allowed to sleep. I'm scared because I think if I do sleep then I won't wake up at all and by the time Jason or Eric or Sookie or Bill come to rescue me there won't be anything left to rescue. But I'm really tired and I'm really hungry and when ever I do sleep I feel like time doesn't exist anymore because I have my dreams that take me to places I don't want to go but places that are much better than here. And even if I don't wake up...maybe it'll be one long continues dream and most of my dreams are sad but it's just the endings that are sad. So maybe if I never wake up my dreams will never end and I'll always be happy with Godric because surely he'll pop up in there somewhere. I think about it and it's funny that he's always in my dreams, in every single one. I let out some air from my nostrils and I think about Godric again. Maybe he'll love me in my sleep and this time never let me go.

I let my eyes stay closed and in my dream I see him and he's in front of me and he's as handsome as he was the first time I saw him and every time I saw him after that. He's staring at me and he's smiling and he has his hand on my cheek and we're standing really high in the sky on a platform but we're not looking down. We're looking at each other. And just when I think he's about to kiss me he jumps...and I wake up again before he falls.


	27. Chapter 27

"I can't just sit here, Sook. You shoulda seen how they had her. She didn't even look like a real person...she looked like...like you know that video they showed us in school of the Slaughter House? And none of us would eat 'til they changed it all?" Jason waited for no answer before he nodded at the memory of little Amie, "Well, thas what she looked like. If we don't go now they're gonna kill her."

Sookie looked at her brother, biting her tongue to keep in what she wanted to shout at the top of her lungs. 'You did this to her' she thought quietly of the little vampire girl that had gone through enough trauma in her life. It was Jason's own fault, his addiction, that lead them here and now Amie was caught in the middle of it-a victim of her race. But she couldn't say this out loud. Jason Stackhouse had become just a ghost of what he had been and although Sookie still sought the killer of women to prove his innocence...it seemed already too late for his sanity. She couldn't kick him while he was already so low, her Gran had taught her better than that. Instead she reached her hand over gently to his and tried to explain, "Jason...we can't just go now. We have to wait for Bill or Eric like she said. If they killed Randy what'd you think they'll do when we get there? Lend us a helping hand?"

Sookie was right, as she always was. Jason still was unable to wrap his mind around the fact that Randy was dead. He had just seen him and they had just talked about football and the good ol' days. And when Jason was hesitant about the whole scheme he was the one that convinced him, that promised him they would let her go after they got six gallons. It was going to be that simple. And now...now he was gone for doing what Jason should have done in the first place, let her go. Jason still couldn't get the image of her wide blue eyes filled with the childlike excitement he had felt with little favors; but he couldn't feel that anymore. He sighed heavily and looked back to Sookie, "Can't you call again?"

"I called twenty times, Jason. I told you, they aren't gonna answer until the sun goes down," Sookie could hear herself being short with him, could hear the attitude in her voice, but she couldn't help it. It was a simple concept she had explained countless times and she couldn't help but to think the old not-addicted-to-vampire-blood Jason could comprehend it on at most the third go around but not this one. She glanced over at the picture of her Gran and could hear her perfectly clear as if she were here herself, saying, 'Be patient with your brother, Sookie Stackhouse. Didn't I teach you shining light is the only way to help a person lost?' Sookie sighed heavily, knowing that keeping Jason sane was going to be a much too difficult task for her to take on her own, "What we can do is..we can call And-"

"No!" he shouted, causing her to jump backward into the chair she had been sitting in. Jason shook his head, standing to his feet in a sudden whirl of energy, "We can't trust those damn cops. They'll think I went out and shot Randy too or somethin'. No. Cops are out of the question. Shit. What time is it?!"

He went to the window and pulled the curtain back to peak out. The sun still shined on his face but it had gotten dull and lower and while that seemed a good sign to Sookie it wasn't enough for him. Jason looked back at her with eyes that were narrowed in determination. She knew that look. It was the look she had seen before every football game and the look he had before every study session she had to get him through for the big tests. She knew he was planning something, "Jason. Don't you dare think about goin' in alone. It's too dangerous!"

"I don't care!" he declared in the same tone he used to dismiss the idea of cops. He pressed his finger to his chest as he continued, "I'm the reason she's there and if no one's gonna help then I'm the one that's gonna take her out. You can stay here and call your vampires but I ain't waitin' any longer."

He stormed for the door but Sookie ran after him, screaming, "Jason Stackhouse! Don't be a fool!"

"I may be a fool but I'd rather die like a hero than die a coward," he said as he opened his door to get in. Sookie was stunned for a second, unsure of how to take his last comment. It was unlike anything Jason had ever said in his entire life and she above all else knew it. Maybe this was a good sign...maybe it meant something she couldn't exactly put a finger on quite yet. But still.

She ran after the truck driving away and shouted, "The address Jason! I need the address!"

He stopped the car suddenly, feeling a swell of joy that his sister was going to let him go. He turned back in the window toward her and shouted the address before looking into her eyes, searching for the bruise around one that she didn't deserve, and said, "I love you, Sookie."

"I love you too, Jason!" she shouted back, watching him turn around and go on his way.

...

Godric stood in line amongst his allies as he had since his arrival to Nevada. The only difference was that he was next and he was not focused on the trial before. Instead his mind was racing with thought after thought to explain the pain throbbing in his body that belonged to none-other-than his child Amie. True, Eric had said she was out on a "fasion adventure" with Pamela and true, he did belive such an adventure would cause Amie such physical distress...but still. He knew his child was in pain and there was nothing that could change that simple truth, she needed help that she wasn't recieving.

The thought filled him with an explosive rage he had only felt when dealing with James and only various times before that but he had to calm himself. If the Magister thought he was a vicious vampire-hating vampire he would recieve the maximum punishment. He had to prove to the Magister this was a one time thing and in fact it would be if vampires understood that Amie was his alone and any action against her would have the same result.

Godric's attention was brought back to the trial by pleadings and the now victim being dragged away by two of the Magister's gaurds. It seemed he was far more cruel than usual, no doubt because of the rise in human-on-vampire, vampire-on-human, and vampire-on-vampire crime. It would be a task to convince him to give Godric the lowest form of punishment.

"Next."

Luisa called and they stepped forward into the early Nevada evening, at the center of vampires searching for violent justice. But Godric had hope. Luisa kept her eyes on Damien who nodded a silent thanks, she had informed the Magister of this particular case and had suggested Godric be offered an easy trial. But that was all she could do. Although she was terribly in love with Damien, she wasn't the Magister and her power only reached so far.

"Godric. I must say when I had heard you were coming I took it as quite a surpirse. I thought 'no, a vampire MANY years our senior here on the charge of forcing a vampire to meet the True Death? Impossible!'" he began, getting the attention of those that had lost interest of the trials. He continued, "But here you are before me with guilt no where in sight."

"I do not feel remorse," Godric replied, standing as he did, tall but not defiant. He didn't seek to challenge Magister, "Yes, I have murdered a member of our race but it was not out of petiness or jealousy or trivial reason. It was simple. He sought harm against my newest child and as a result he met the True Death. The only regret I have is that I took the law into my own hands before consulting the Authority. It will not happen again."

The Magister let out a heavy breath through his nostrils as he stroked his cane and examined those before him, "And what is your reason for bringing these vampires to your side?"

"To confirm his story," Damien answered as he bowed. The Magister didn't enjoy when other answered questions that weren't directed to him.

"No need to bow here, King. We are all friends," the Magister smiled, forcing Damien to stand up straight. "Rarely do I ever have the pleasure to keep company with a King such as yourself. This case must be very personal."

"Indeed it is. James was my guest and I feel personally responsible for the harm that came to Godric's child," he answered, allowing his emotion to peak in through his features.

"Guest?" The Magister repeated.

"Yes. I held a small event in which vampires with in my territory would be allowed to meet her," Godric explained.

"I suppose my invitation got lost in the mail?" The Magister questioned, sending them slightly on edge.

"Forgive me, but she is still so young and careless. I had the intention of waiting at least a year before I allowed her in your presence," Godric answered without a second of hesitation. The trick, he always knew, to being a good liar was not thinking of lies but allowing them to naturally fall from the lips.

"Well. That is understandable. I look forward to seeing the invitation in the mail. But the trouble is how do I take your word over the King of New York?" the Magister asked with a smirk on his face as if he had gotten them. As if he would finally be able to prove there were no vampires, no matter how old, that could escape his ruling.

There was a hesitation of silence and then suddenly Stan's voice filled the air, "I have video evidence."

Isabel hit him hard in the stomach but he was anticipating it so it didn't cause as much physical harm as she had hoped. Stan held the dvd out for Luisa to take and as she did he gave her a little wink she recoiled from. Luisa pranced up to the Magister and handed him the dvd that he took with joy. He pulled out a portable dvd player from somewhere in his large and crazy throne and began to watch the contents on the dvd player with wide eyes until the climax in which he let out a loud yell and an amused, "No that is how a vampire meets the True Death! I think I might just hold onto this. Wow, Godric, this is your progeny?"

With pride, Godric nodded his head and answered, "Yes."

The Magister shook his head once more as he rewound the dvd and watched it over again, "I truly can't wait to meet her."

It was a comment that sent Godric on edge but Damien was quick to passify him with a little smile. Things were working out as he had planned and he would be damned if Godric got himself into deeper shit by going after the Magister himself.

"But you see...thing is...we have a problem here, Godric. It wasn't just anyone you ripped the head off of. It was the fucking King of New York," the words come out of the Magister's voice in a heavy and dark way that throws stones at the four standing before him and implies something they had all feared. "No-"

"I have one more piece of information to share with you," Damien suddenly interupted to his allies surprise. They had not discussed any further pieces of information, "Before his untimely demise James and I had become very well aquainted. During many of our visits he had informed me of a brothel being run in his territory with his full knowledge. The brothel goes by the name of _Young Blood_ and is run by a very notorious institution of humans with its main inport being young females and its main export being their blood and their bodies to the highest paying customer. He informed me that he had been recieving a large percentage of their profit that he had been using to pay off his debt to the IRS. I can see that..this is a surprise. Unfortunately in the secret of our company he had informed me that he had no intention of bringing this to the Authorities attention. I purpose, if you don't mind."

The Magister nodded his head, which allowed Damien to continue.

"I purpose that Godric reform _Young Blood_ in a manner that is most appeasing to the Authority. I doubt I need to remind you of the first human-friendly vampire hotel opened in his territory as well as his Progeny's succes in the human-friendly vampire bar _Fangtasia_ which has pioneered the way for many similar establishments of its kind that allow income for most of the kingdoms around the world," Damien's dominer was calm and serious as if he had no intention of getting any answer but yes. For many of the vampires there, it seemed an impossibility to consider anything but that alternative.

But the Magister was unlike any vampire. He sat on his thrown with his hand tactfully propped under his chin, giving him the ultimate power over what will occur. Despite what ever conclusion he would come to, Godric felt great pride in the presence of his comrade. It was a good fight and it seemed like the perfect ultimatim. It was something Godric had not even considered, but as reasonable as it seemed...the Magister was still an unreasonable man. He sighed heavily as he crossed his legs and placed his long cane over his lap, "I much like the idea of extra income heading my way. However...there is the trouble of who will run his territory now. Any suggestions? Oh, wise, Damien?"

"I believe it is I who has come to a conclusion on this account," Godric spoke, stepping up slowly in order to take the light off his his friend, "If Damien does not mind, I suggest Jolie take control over the territory. She is exactly one hundred years older than James had been, under Damien's charge she has three times the political training. I also suggest that one of my very own underlings assist her in her reign."

"I believe she would enjoy that very much. Her nest is already in New York City," Damien smiled, considering the joy Jolie would feel in her new position.

"Yes, but which underling?" The Magister asked, his eyes roaming over both Stan and Isabel.

Stan thought to himself, his eyes glancing to Isabel, if she gets to be co-queen I'm gonna be so pissed.

But to his surprise both Damien and Godric turned with joy as if it had been premeditated, "Stan."

"Me?" Stan asked.

"Him?" Isabel repeated.

But they had not made a mistake. They nodded their heads and Damien smirked, "She has had her eye on you for quite some decades."

"Well, well! It seems we have come to the appropriate conclusion! I request that you keep me updated continually through out the reform of New York and this _Young Blood_. Next!" The Magister shouted and the trial was over.

They walked past the open court and back to the vehicles they had driven to get here. Godric turned to his commrades and nodded his head, "Thank you all for your assistance. I appreciate your time and I hope you all understand that if any of you find yourselves in a similar situation, I will come to your aid without the slightest hesitation."

While Godric had been expecting nods of understanding Isabel spoke quickly, "My Sheriff, and my King, I apologize in advance for how this will come across but Stan!?"

"Hey!" Stan shouted with the intention of adding some brutal comments but Godric spoke first.

"Enough. I still require your assistance greatly to manage my territory as well as Amie. I would suggest you, Isabel, but to leave Stan in authority of my Area, it would create chaos," he explained, not worrying about offending Stan in anyway.

But Stan had not been offended. Instead he twisted Godric's explanation as a way to convince who ever was listening of Isabel's inadequacy as a leader. Godric stepped away from the two and allowed Damien to deal with their unfolding wrath. It was time Godric had a break from the two. The three days in their constant company had proved too much of a strain and he needed, absolutely needed to get in touch with his Amie. He picked up his cell phone from his pant pocket and dialed Eric's number. He said she would be back from her trip with Pam by this evening. If she didn't answer, there would be hell to pay.


	28. Chapter 28

Drop.

Drop.

Drop.

My blood leaks out of my viens like water strays from an old pipe.

Drop.

Drop.

Drop.

It's not flowing so easily anymore. I thought that when the sun went down I would feel stronger but all I feel is numb and a little more vulnerable to their will. It was at night that they caught me and it was at night that Randy died. It's not me that's stronger with the cover of darkness, it's them.

I try not to listen to the eighth gallon being filled but I can't help to notice my new background music. I thought that when I got to the eighth one I would die from-what was that word I heard at the party?-_exsanguination, _but no. I'm still alive...bairly.

It's so hard to breathe now. Even though I never needed to, it feels like it's the only thing that's keeping me around. That and the little bottles of TruBlood they give me after every few gallons. I think they can see that I've become deflated, I don't fight back anymore or talk so much and they let me drink two bottles instead of playing with me and making me choke. I glance over at the gallon and see that it's almost filled all the way up. I want to call them, to tell them to give me a break or to change it but I'm so weak and the thought of having them ingest more of my blood makes me sicker than seeing it spilled on the floor. I want to leave. I want Godric.

_Could you be a companion of Death? _

In my mind he is before me and he has that smile that I've yet to see again that's selfless and that's wanting and unashamed. I think back to what Jolie said about Damien and how they made love upon her arrival into the vampire world. I wonder if Godric thought about that with me. I wonder if he thinks about that at all.

_Could you walk with me through the world...through the dark?_

The dark. What did he mean by the dark? Did he mean the nighttime only? Or did he mean through the evil that I'll see that I must have never seen before? But I have seen this kind of evil. The sooner my blood leaves my body the sooner I forget where and who I am and what I've become. The quicker I lose the quicker I fall back into the corner of the cell where I was much safer being quiet and invisible. Maybe that's my problem. Maybe being a vampire has made me too confident and I should go back to how I used to be, I was a lot safer then.

_I could..teach you all I know. I would be your father, your brother, your friend._

Father...brother...friend...I needed that now. I needed that all, that protection. Why did I think I was strong enough to leave the comfort of that very large estate? Why did I think I could take care of myself and face the world on my own? How could I be so stupid?

_Your...lover._

For the second I remember my blood jumps back through my veins and fills my cheeks. The rush, the jump, is so sudden that I feel a jolt of energy awaken my once dulling breathing rate. I feel my fangs fall halfway but I am way too weak to expend the energy in letting them all the way out.

Maybe that's what I need, to think about that stuff that makes me so nervous it will be impossible for my blood to leave.

Like the kiss. Like the poems. Like when he said he loved me. Like when I realized he saw me naked. Like when we danced in the moonlight. Like when he held me so tight, like he was telling me he loved me without his words. Like when he wipes my tears.

It's working.

I lean up a little bit, my mind working in halves to imagine all the little things about him I love so much and about what Jolie had said and asked at the party, the skin burned from silver not even healing because it's learned there is no point. I try to pull on my hand because it was almost two hours ago that I realized I could slip through but my thoughts are not enough.

My body doesn't respond to what my mind commands, my hand stays dormant in it's position on the silver chair. There's no way for me to escape and it's like I'm leaking out even more.

I feel panic in me as I look to the doors but Castles and Johnny and Carl and Stu and Idiot and Dumbass and Ron just took another 'hit' of my blood an hour ago and I know they aren't going to wake up from their dreams anytime soon. I try to open my mouth to call for help but my throat is so dry and my mouth only falls open a fraction, enough for me to groan.

If only someon-

Wait...I hear the wheels of a familiar truck pull up. Is that? It can't be. I told him not to come. I told him to get Eric to help and I told him to even get Vampire Bill. By the sound of his rapid heartbeat I know he's alone. How does he expect to get out of this?

My ears follow Jason's quiet decent into the basement and I wait patiently and eagerly for him to come to me. He flicks on the lights that are so blinding I sluggishly flinch for them to close. The sound of the bulbs hum is just enough to block out the draining sound from my body but it's not enough to hide Jason's gasp.

I know, Jason...You don't have to say it.

"Fuck!" he hisses, his voice breaking into tears that I shield myself from. I feel like I could cry myself. I don't want to see what I've become reflected in his eyes. I know I'm an ugly bleeding pancake.

I hear him fall to my side and the first thing he does is rip the tubes from my arms. It's a little prick that doesn't hurt so much anymore. I open my eyes a fraction and see his face covered in tears and it's like the only time I ever see him is when he's crying. I want to tell him it's okay, to relax, but I can't.

"I'm so sorry," his voice is filled with a disbelief that makes me feel a sense of hopelessness. Jason is here to rescue me but what if I can't be rescued? What if we do get away...but I can't heal? When I go back to beg for Godric's forgiveness..will he even want me anymore? Jason's words break me from my thoughts, "I-I'm gonna take you out. I'm gonna take care of this. I'm gonna fix this."

His fingers began to work clumsily on my chains but I want to tell him that if he just pulled they would come apart. I try to move my mouth because it's still open but all I do is let out another groan that doesn't do anything but send Jason into another fit of hysterics. I want to calm him down but I'm just too tired to do anything.

My eyes shut as Jason's words start to mix into a new form of background music. I know he's sorry, I forgive him, but I'm scared that it's too late. There's a sound somewhere in the house that reminds me of the men that are still here and still wrapped up in my blood.

Do I want to be saved?

I don't really know.

"Ahhh."

The low whine fills my ears and I know that it came out of my mouth. I feel like I'm being thrown into the sky and a sick feeling fills my stomach and I open my eyes a little and I see that I'm in Jason's arms. He's holding me tight against his chest and I can hear the sound of his heart beating and it's so fast and I'm scared because what if it's beating too fast? I don't really remember what's the normal pace for a heart but I know this isn't it.

Jason tells me like a secret that he's going to get me out and he's going to take care of me but his voice is starting too sound too far away and it's making me feel so uncomfortable I just wish for the silence that means the men are sleeping and I'm safe. I curl up in his arms like it's the safe little corner that was my home for so long but we're moving through air and it's not the safe. For some reason I think abour my grandpa and how he used to carry me to bed when he thought I was sleeping but I wasn't really asleep. I was just pretending. Back then, when I could pretend, everything became so simple when I just shut my eyes. I would hear angry voices and I would shut my eyes and wake up to kissy noises in the kitchen. I would hear angry voices and wake up in my grandpa's car because he was taking me to get an early Christmas present. It suddenly dawns on me why Jason smells so familiar. Jason smells just like my grandpa...which is weird because I don't think he's wearing cologne. I know my grandpa never did. It has to mean something. I'm just not too sure what it could be.

"You don't wanna do this, Castles, I'm your friend."

Jason's voice sounds so scared and my body feels like it's on vibrate. I blink a little and can see Castles is pointing a hand gun at Jason like the ones my grandpa used to let me practice shooting with sometimes. Castels' eyes are far away like they aren't here right now but his voice fills up the entire room, "Yuhr tryina take away my product, Jason. We ain't friends."

"No, no, sh-she ain't a _product._ She's a perso-"

"SHE'S A FUCKING FANGER!" Castles screams in a voice so loud it wakes me up a little and suddenly it's clear where we are and we haven't even left the basement yet, we're so close to the stares. Jason holds onto me so tight but it's not going to help if he shoots us we're both dead. Castels looks at us with crazy eyes, "Now...don't tell me yuh gone soft, Stackhouse. Yuh a sympathizer?"

I look up at Jason and see his jaw is clenched so tight I'm scared his teeth will break. I wonder what's going on in his head...he looks so confused. Maybe he does hate vampires...or maybe he did. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe I changed his mind. Maybe I reminded him that everyone's different and not all vampires are the same. Or maybe he just feels guilty for getting me into this mess. I don't really know.

"What's it gon' be, Stackhouse. Yuh call the shots," Castles declares in a voice that's really, really threatening.

"You can shove that gun rite there up your ass, motherfucker, cause I ain't lettin' you hurt her no more," Jason doesn't sound like the Jason I've been introduced to. He sounds like a new man, a fighter, a warrior, and I can't believe he's fighting for me. If we live...I'll have to return the favor. It seems like it's over and we've won. Which is good because I'm getting tired again and my eyes are getting heavy and I really want to go to sleep. But then Jason says, "You might as well sh-"

BOOM!

I try to move my body in front of Jason's to protect him but I'm so weak and exhausted. I don't really know what happens except when I open my eyes me and Jason haven't moved a centimeter and when I look over to Castles a really long back is in my way. I glance upward and see the long blonde hair of a man that can only belong to one person. My big brother.

Eric steps to the side, slouching down from being the shield and I see that the bullet is in his chest but it falls out as soon as he moves. His face is still but it's the scary still that promises he's going to do something very, very bad. He keeps his eyes on Castles as he speaks in a very bored tone, "That almost hurt."

I've never seen pure terror.

But Castles' eyes are living and breathing examples of what it is. I take in a deep breath to relax but Jason is so stiff it's like he's a mannequin. I want to tell Eric that he shouldn't kill these men because we're better than they are. We're better than punishment...their lives...their addiction is worse enough. But I'm tired again and this time I don't think anything's going to give me the energy boost.

I think about Godric..

I smell fresh blood...

I hear Eric calling me...

but even that doesn't wake me up.

...

In my dream I hear the dark shadow whisper with my hands around his neck, "What did you see about me?"

...

Sweet.

Very, very sweet.

Too sweet.

Familiar.

Gross.

Unwelcomed.

Weird.

Frightening.

Too much.

Too, too much.

My eyes flash open and I see that there is a thin pale arm pressed against my mouth with blood flowing into it. I look up further and see that it's not just any blood...it's Sookie's.

Before I even know what's happening my body reacts without me. I'm hunched over on the _Fangtasia _ floor heaving up what ever blood trickled into my system, and it's a lot. I'm like a dog that has swallowed something it shoulding, I sound like a dying duck as I spray out small amounts of blood like a broken garbage disposal. It hurts but not as bad as the pain in my face that burns with every facial expression I make.

I hear Sookie's voice that says, "Amie...I-I give you permission to drink my blood."

But it's not that.

For some reason I feel disgusted with her blood in my system like I commited some great..._wrong _or something. It doesn't help that I'm thinking about Randy and Callie's broken face smashed to bits as their blood pools around them, or that I'm thinking of my own blood collecting in those gallons that the men drank from.

But wait.

"Amie, you must drink human blood," I cringe at the sound of Eric's voice...even though it's not loud or angry like I expect it to be. It's soft and...worried and maybe he see's my reaction because he quickly adds, "It's the only way all your wounds can heal in a timely manner."

My mind flashes to Eric and how the bullet fell out of his chest. He took that bullet for me. And because of him I'm here, I'm safe and I'm alive although I feel horrible like a mangled piece of metal. But still, the thought of drinking more of Sookie's blood disturbs me and before I cough again I spit out, "No, no human blood."

"Pa-"

Before Eric can complete his sentence there is a wastebasket in front of me that I grip onto and there is Pam with a bottle of water and a roll of paper towels in front of me. I'm so confused that my body forgets how bad it feels and it takes time to notice Pam and her outfit. She's not dolled up in spike, leather, glitter, or high heels. In fact...she's wearing a designer version of something my mom would wear. She has on a nice fitted long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and it's a nice color of teal that makes her eyes pop out and her normally pale skin have more color. She's also wearing nice fitted mom jeans that are dark blue and go up to her waist and she's wearing long black boots with no heal that go up to her knees. But her outfit itsn't the confusing part. The confusing part is that she doesn't look angry. She looks sad.

I take the water bottle from her hand and I put the water in my mouth and swish it around so I can spit it out into the basket. The taste of Sookie's blood is almost gone but I still feel queasy. I take the roll of paper towels and I try to wipe my mouth but I hit something that brings more stinging to my face. I look down at myself to see what it is but I can't see past my nose that is covered in...little dots of silver. But something else catches me by surprise. I'm not wearing my red tattered dress. Instead I'm wearing a long, very long shirt that's red and black like the walls and says _Fangtasia _on it.

"Well...what about mine?" It's Jason's voice, I can tell by the sound and how unsure and tentative he forms the question. I want to shake my head but I feel another spasm go through my stomach and I try to hold in how sick I feel.

"No."

Eric's voice makes me tremble and I'm sure the rest of the room does too.

He dismisses, "Your blood is no longer pu-"

"Hey!" Sookie shouts defensively and all this shouting makes me feel like another round of vomitting is going to hit me.

So I shout out to stop it all, "NO human blood! At all!"

"Don't be foolis-"

Eric begins but Pam suddenly starts speaking in some language in a very loud and very strong voice that takes over the conversation. She's standing tall and aggressively as she speaks like she's going to hit Eric if he continues. He replies back in a calm but aggitated voice and he looks at me with something weird like guilt as he bows his head to Pam and she turns to me with a little smile, "Don't worry. In a few hours what ever left will heal on their own. As for the silver..."

"I'm sure Pam won't mind plucking each piece with a pair of tweezers," Eric has a smirk that I remember but it's all off because he's not yelling or angry. And instead of having a snarky comment Pam just rolls her eyes so quickly I wouldn't even notice if I wasn't paying attention.

"Come on, I'll take you home we'll get that all right out," Pam says, extending her arms toward me like she's willing to carry me if she has to.

I don't say anything because I'm kind of worried that something horrible is going to happen in a few seconds like...they made a deal with those men and they're going to keep me. They just want to make sure I look presenting so I don't give them a bad name. I look over everyone's eyes, even Vampire Bill or for some reason has changed from the very protective guy I had seen before to this very sad and sympathetic figure, and ask, "What..what happened to the men?"

The room changes to half frightened and half pleased. It's no surprise that Eric and Pam are the ones that look satisfied. Pam swats her hair behind her shoulder as she answers, "We took care of them."

"How?" I continue, wondering why Jason looks like a war veteran that has seen way too much.

"The kidnapping of a vampire with the intention of selling and distributing their blood is one of the worst crimes a human can commit. As **The** Acting Sheriff it is my decision as to what punishment I see fit. All you need to worry about is that they will never, ever harm you again," Eric has turned into the Eric I remember and for some reason I feel a real kind of terror for the poor humans that have hurt me.

"I don't want you to kill them," I say in a low voice like a whisper because I know admitting this will only get me into trouble.

"They hurt you, Amie," Sookie is the first to snap, her eyes completely bewildered by what I had just said. I didn't see that Bill was bandaging the cut she had made to feed me but now I do because she stands away from him as she declares, "They deserve to be hung and gutted like the pigs that they are."

"Fuck yeah!" Jason shouts, slamming the table that had been my makeshift bed.

I shake my head, "No. We're better than that. We're better than them. What ever you've done so far will scare them enough to know they shouldn't hurt another vampire again but torturing them...that will only prove that we are just as cruel as they are. We need to show them kindness and compasion and we need to prove to humans like them that vampires a-are different! And vampires can be nice and can be forgiving!"

"Amiena," I look to Eric and I can see anger boiling inside of him but this is how I feel and I want him to know. He's ashamed of me again...I can tell by the fact that he can't even meet my eyes but I don't care. "You are still unwell. Allow Pam to address the rest of your wounds at home and we will continue this discussion behind the privacy of our own walls."

Yeah. I know what that means. He's going to yell at me again and he's going to be mean and he's going to make me cry and I really really don't want that and before I even know what I'm doing I'm hugging Sookie because I want her to take me and take care of me. She rubs my back lightly as I cry into her chest and I shake my head as I whisper, "No. I just wanted to go and hang out with you. I really did! I want to stay with you!"

"You can!" Sookie smiles and I can see she might start crying too as she hugs me. "You can stay with me! I don't mind! Bill an' I'll figure out the sleeping arrangements but I don't care!"

"I'm afraid that is an impossible request," Eric says and I feel like I'm going to fall apart at the edges until he adds, "After all, Godric arrives tomorrow evening and we must prepare for your departure tonight."

Like a marionette I pull away from Sookie and I stand tall. Godric will be here? Tomorrow! A wide smile fills my face but I have to lower it because it hurts. I don't know why but suddenly I start to laugh because the sick feeling in my stomach has turned into butterflies and the ide-no the fact! that Godric will be here! HERE! Makes me feel so crazy I can't control myself. I look at Sookie and I hug her tight, "Nevermind, Sookie. But thank you so much for being my friend! I'll see you later!"

She nods her head in surprise, too stunned to say anything but, "You are always welcome in my home, Amie."

I look to Jason and _this_ time I jump up and I torpedo into him...not like a real torpedo...more like a medicine ball! and I hear the air escape his lungs but I laugh again because of the face he makes and I hug him softly, not to hard as I shout out, "Thank you, Jason for rescuing me!"

"It's no problem!" he groans, "But can you please let me go!"

I do and I laugh even more as he slips through my grip. I walk to Pam's side and I look up at her as I nod, "Alright. Let's go home now."


	29. Chapter 29

"Well, at least the shower got rid of all the big pieces," Pam huffs as she inspects my face. Her minty breath falls over my features as she sighs, "Everyone knows I love a challenge."

I sit on the edge of my bed, dressed in my pajamas and waiting for the really sharp and thin tweezers in Pam's hands to get to work. She had begun before, as soon as we got here, but it hurt so bad I complained and my tears threatened to come forward so she put the operation on pause and decided that maybe a shower would get it all out. I was supposed to be allowed privacy but she changed her mind when she found out I was too afraid to actually go in the water. She settled for giving me the spa treatment of washing my hair for me and then subtly holding my face in the stream despite my screams of protest. When it was all done she said 'At least your hair smells nice.' Which is what I decide to repeat to her now, "At least my hair smells nice."

She narrows her eyes at me and with lightning speed plucks something and sends a sharp pain to my face, "Next funny comment that comes out of your mouth I'll make sure you look perminantly surprised."

I can't help but to laugh at her threat as I imagine myself with eyebrows shaped in serious arches. It doesn't help that the corner of her mouth lifts up like my being amused is amusing her. Her eyes scan my face again and I ask, "Is Godric okay? Did he get into a lot of trouble?"

I wince as she plucks a piece of silver but suddenly her free hand lashes out and I feel her press the pad of her index finger against the hole and underneath it I feel it heal. That's a really cool trick. Her brows are furrowed as she works but she answers, "No. Eric said he got a slap on the wrist."

"What do we have to do?" the more I hear about Godric the sooner time flies and the sooner he'll be in my arms.

"Something about reforming some blah, blah, blah James was exploiting," It's like the more disinterested Pam is the more interested I become. Could that blah, blah, blah be _Young Blood_?

"The place we have to reform...is that...is that the place I came from?" it's awful phrasing but it's the only way I can think of. I don't want to say _Young Blood. _It's impossible to think that place has a name.

Pam becomes uneasy. Although her face and body hasn't changed I can sense it, I can feel it, I know she doesn't want to talk about this. Or does she? She has that sad look in her eyes like she did before when she was remembering something and there's a weak quiver of her upper lip before she speaks, "You aren't _from_ that place. They never owned you. You always had the choice to stay or die and you choose to stay, to _survive._ Eric taught me that the thing about being a vampire is that your life does not have to define your afterlife. You are always in control."

Her hand reaches out to my face and I realize then that I'm crying. I don't know which part made me cry most, the beginning, the middle, the fact that she looked like a mom she could never be. I wonder if she ever thought about being a mom...that thought makes me saddest.

"Stop crying. You're making my job harder than it has to be," Pam smiles, grabbing a tissue from somewhere and wiping my tears away before they really start to fall.

I laugh softly and shake my head, "You don't have to do this job, I can take it from here."

"The last time I let you do something by yourself you put heels in my wall," she says, motioning to the heels that still hang suspended in the air.

I blush slightly as I think about my tantrum, "I'm sorry about that."

"It was our fault. We should have known better than to let you waitress. We should have kept you outside to check IDs," She smirks and suddenly with a big grin that hurts I remember how I got those girls to run away and she nods her head with her own grin, "Yep, we saw it. I don't think Eric and I have ever been so proud."

"Really?!" I ask, unable to keep myself from bouncing with excitement. Were they really proud?

She nods her head again, "We thought the whole time you were off in your own little...Amie-flowers-and-butterflies-and-rainbows land but when we saw that...we knew you got it. We knew you could take care of yourself."

At the last comment I start to frown, which hurts worse than smiling, "I guess you were wrong."

"No we weren't. I say when six grown men attack a young girl, vampire or not, that's not a fair fight. Especially when they bring silver into it," she looks so serious as she says this and I believe her. She's right. I didn't stand a chance with them. "Speakin' of which. Stop moving around and let me get this out."

She starts pulling out the silver at a rapid pace and it's like each time I flinch I flinch again for something else and I'm working at a one second delay, "Ugh! This hurts!"

"Yeah, and it's going to hurt more if you let if stay in there," she warns as she continues her rapid speed but I give her a pout, my only chance, and she slows. She huffs with annoyance as she stands up from her bent position. She folds her hands over her chest and looks at me with the cold eyes I rememeber, "You have two choices, Amie, let Godric see that silver all in your face or let me take it out."

"No!" I shout, protesting the idea of seeing Godric for the first time in so long and having it ruined by stupid silver.

"That's what I thought. Now, can I do my job?" she asks and I have to remember that trick because it's certaintly the only way to get things done.

I nod my head willingly, "Fine, fine. But it hurts."

"Pain his beauty," she says with a slumb of her shoulders like she knows exactly what that means. She leans over again and starts going to work, this time a lot slower for me. I keep my eyes closed and try not to pay attention to the pain as I think about Godric and how this is going to pay off. I wonder what I'm going to wear! "Amie...can I...ask you a question?"

I open my eyes because she's stopped tweezing and I see she's genuinly confused by something and I thought that was my territory. I nod my head, "Sure."

"Well...Sookie's blood. Sookie smells..she has this scent that makes her so..tantalizing. And when I smelled her blood fresh and in the air...it was the most delicious thing like-like fresh baked apple pie or the scent of a man when he's filled with desire. I envied your chance to drink it. Why did you stop? Why did you throw it all up?" she really looks stunned, truly stunned and when I think about it she did have the expression like I snapped the Spring-Fling Tiara or something.

"I don't know...I didn't think about it. When I drank it...When I realized what it was. I just felt so disgusted. You know? I felt sick like...well..the only thing I can think of is when I was younger and I tried to learn how to skateboard but the first time I stepped on I fell face forward and had to get stitches on the inside of my lip. The whole ride to the hospital I was swallowing blood and I felt so grossed out and weird I would have thrown up if I didn't pass out. It felt...it felt like that. I don't know why but I couldn't keep it in any longer. No matter what," I answer as honestly as I possibly can because I hadn't really had a chance to disect that moment yet.

I look up at Pam and see her confused look has turned to one of skeptical disbelief. She shakes her head dismissively as she focuses on another piece of silver, "You're just a weird little one and that's all there is to it."

I give her a little smile and an eye roll and a huff through my nose that says 'I guess I am' without me having to really say it out loud.

She pushes my chin upward as she snaps, "What did I say about moving?"

"Pam."

We both go cold like deer in headlights at the sound of Eric's voice. We look to the door and see him standing there ominously like one or both of us is going to get into serious trouble. We don't make a move. We wait for him to respond.

Instead of yelling he steps in and sighs, "You're dismissed."

She stands and he snatches the tweezers from her hands but instantly I wish she stayed. She leaves the room with me and him in it and I make sure to stay still as he gets on one knee and begins pulling out the pieces of silver I wouldn't let her get to. I try not to cringe and move but he's doing it so fast and I can feel he's digging in and maybe pulling some skin out.

"Amiena," he speaks my name in a tired tone like he's sick of my actions.

I quickly defend myself in a quiet voice, "You're hurting me."

His hand and his head fall at the same time and I think in that second that wow, I'm really in for it. He rests his arm on his knee and I'm so terrified because I can't see his expression by his curtain of hair. He must really hate me now. I open by mouth to apologize for hitting him in his downstairs parts but his head suddenly lifts and his blue blue eyes meet mine and for a second I can see the resembalance between him and Godric and it's frightening.

"Eric?" I ask with confusion because I don't really know what to expect from the way he's looking at me.

"I haven't been a very good brother, have I," it's not a question that he asks but he says it in the saddest way possible and it makes me have to answer.

"No, no, no! That's not true!" I shout quietly because I can't take the way he's looking at me, like he's not really looking at me but at all the bad things he's done and I don't want him to feel so sad. I want him to go back to cool and emotionless and uncaring, I don't want him to feel bad.

"You don't have to lie," he looks deeper into my eyes and that point I feel like I'm having de-ja-vu or something because I feel like I've been in this same position with Godric before. He cools down and looks away as he begins to talk again, "I apologize for my behavior..you may guess that having a younger sister has been quite an adjust meant. For centuries I had waited for Godric to turn another human but when one did not come I assumed I would be his only. I admit my jealousy has been a key reason to our distance but I must also admit that it is your personality that has brought out the aggressiveness in me."

"My personality?" I can't help but to ask. The whole time he had me going and feeling really bad and guilty for even existing but the last part made all that crumble...just a little bit.

He looks up at me with a faint smirk that fades quickly, "Yes. Godric had warned me of you and I still have photographic evidence of the last stunt you pulled." My eyes go wide but he keeps speaking, "When I met you...You...Amie, you are everything I feared you would be. Innocent, kind, curious, caring, strong-minded, sensitive, trusting, everything that is lethal to a vampire's existance. Although I took too much satisfaction in tormenting you it was all for a reason. We thought if we could teach you to be like us-cold, uncaring, dominant, selfish-you would be strong enough to protect yourself. I thought if you were like us you could be strong enough to protect Godric. But Godric does not need another person to protect. He needs someone he can protect himself, and that is you. I see now what Godric see's in you, Amie. In almost all of our discussions he spoke of you as a member of the new vampire race, the evolved. I see now that we were far too confident to believe we were strong and you were weak. I see now that it is far more difficult to make friends than it is to make enemies. I see now that Godric sent you here not so you can learn from us, but so we can learn from you."

"Does that mean you love me?" I don't know why this is the question I decide to ask when really all I want to do is burst all over the place because I have so many emotions I really can't contain them all.

His eyes are steady on mine but they're troubled and distant like he's not looking at me anymore. He answers in a quiet voice, "I don't know what that means. But I do know this, I am very glad you are my sister."

At that a smile bigger than I ever felt blooms onto my face and it doesn't hurt so much, in fact it doesn't hurt at all, "I'm glad you're my big brother too."

For the first time since I've been here I see him smile, really smile, and I want to take a picture because I know those kinds of smile are far and wide between.

I reach my hand forward and pat his shoulder as I say, "You know, you should try joing the loving side. I think you'd be good at it."

"One of us has to be the fighter," he replies with ANOTHER smile and this time I can't help but to laugh and I think if he's going to keep being this way I should get some evidence with my camera.

Wait...camera. My eyes sky rocket and I look around in shock, "My bag and my camera!"

"The closet. Pam found both still in good condition," Eric informs me, pointing to the closet where my bag and camera hang around the door knob.

I sigh heavily with relief, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost those...speaking of not knowing what to do...oh goodness! Does Godric know where I've been? He's going to kill me!"

For the OTHER first time ever I see actual fear and panic in his eyes as he denies, "Kill you? I highly doubt that. If anything he would kill me for letting you out of my sight."

"Yeah, but _**I**_ escaped your sight and disobeyed all your orders. I'm dead meat," I groan, covering my face with my hands.

"Regardless of what you believe, you are in no trouble. I told him you were on a fashion adventure with Pam however I find it very unlikely that he believes me," Eric sighs, looking away with that fear in his eyes.

"Fashion adventure?" I ask, unable to stop myself from laughing at the sound of that coming out of his mouth.

"You find that amusing? I dare you to lie to Godric," he challenges with this look in his eyes as if he would be glad to see me try and fail.

"Go ahead and watch me," I smirk, accepting his challenge as I fold my arms over my chest, "I'll save your butt and my butt in one phone call."

He raises his eyebrow in a way that lets me know he doesn't believe me, "Care to make a bet?"

"Sure. If I lose we die...if I don't..we live!" I grin in a cheesy way and he chuckles softly making my fake grin turn real.

"How about something more tangible? That necklace you wear is a very powerful amulet," he says, pointing at the necklace around my neck I reach up to touch.

"Well...if it's so powerful why didn't it protect me?" I can't help but to ask in a tone I know is way too childish.

He gives me this look that let's me know I am being very childish, "Well, you are here aren't you?"

I shrug sheepishly and smile, "Yeah, I guess so. Well...if I win what do I get?"

"I have a ring I believe you may find appealing," he says with such certainty my curiousity is peaked.

"What does it look like?" I question, raising my brow and squinting my eyes a bit.

"It cost one tho-"

"What does it look like?" I repeat, deciding the monitary value would mean nothing if it's the ugliest piece of jewelery I have ever seen.

"See for yourself," he says as he begins to stand but suddenly I feel a panic fill me because I don't want him to leave the moment before I tell him something.

"Eric, wait!" I warn, making him go back to his position as he turns around in time for me to throw my arms around his neck and hug him tight, really really tight, as I whisper, "Thank you for saving me."

It takes a second but then his arms go around me and he hugs me just as tight as he replies, "Thank you for saving Godric."

As if summoned by the name Eric's phone goes off and I'm confused because I thought I threw it into the wall and broke it. I guess that, like his desk and the stairs, is really durable too. I pull my arms back just as he pulls it out of his pocket.

"Time to shine," he smirks as he hands me the phone.

I take it from him quickly, feeling the butterflies flow into overdrive and my body start to shiver because I'm so nervous because I haven't heard his actual voice in what feels like forever. Eric stands and I narrow my eyes at him as I say, "I still want to see that ring."

"No need, you won't be getting it," is his last comment before he leaves the room.

I look at the phone, ringing in my hand and I take in a deep breath to calm myself. He's one sleep away. He's one sleep away. I plop down onto the bed and I immediantly burst into tears, "Godric! Oh Godric I miss you so much! Where _are _you?! Eric told me you'll be here tomorrow but I can't wait another second! I know I've been having so much fun here and I don't ever want to leave because I love it and I know, I know I told you beforet hat I hated it but I was just being dramatic and now I love it and I love everyone but I really miss you and I wish you here right now because I miss you and I'm so sorry for how I behaved and Eric told me that you were really worried about me because we didn't talk but you have NO idea how crazy it's been! Did he tell you I went on a fashion adventure with Pam and my goodness Godric the things that they made me WEAR. And I touched silver be accident! I know, I know! But we went to this fancy place and it's a human and vampire place so they had all this jewlery and I saw this bracelet and I didn't know it was silver and I went to put it on and it hurt SO bad and I started crying and Pam almost had a caniption and she yelled at the lady that was helping us, as you can imagine and you know what...Pam is acutally really nice. I know it's supposed to be a secret but I want to let you know you should be nice to her because she was so nice to me. And anyway after that we tried on SO many clothes and she did such CRAZY things to my hair and I wore SO much make up but these outfits were so crazy that I told her I'll only wear this stuff if I'm here and she's dressing me up because if it were up to me I wouldn't know what's a sock or a belt."

His laughter fills my ears and I can't help but to curl up in bed and let the sound like wind chimes fill my brain.

Oh, Godric, my Godric.

Just one sleep away.


	30. Chapter 30

Any second now. Any second now Godric will walk through the door.

"Staring at the door won't make him come any faster," Pam comments from behind her fake glasses and clip board as she passes by to do inventory in some other section of _Fangtasia._

"You don't know that!" I call out as she closes a mysterious door I've never been in. She's right. I let out a loud breath from my nostrils and lean back from the table I had been gripping in anticipation. I fold my hands onto my lap and sink into the booth; I want to look _cool _after all.

At least that's what I told Pam.

I look down at my clothes-a beautiful frock that goes up to my knees and is a lighter variation of the dusty rose color I love so much, a nice grey cardigan that isn't too heavy but still makes me look a little businessy, nice black flats that make the light colors pop out-it's true she did a good job in making me LOOK cool but inside I am nothing close to it. I think back to the quick "cool" lesson she gave me as she decided my curly hair would do no good today. Between finding creative ways to hold me down and straightening my hair she told me to make sure HE comes to me. I have to make sure HE sees me first and makes the first move. I've been giving too much away with my sobby phone calls and now that he's going to be with in arms length I have to regain control. But even as she put my straight hair-which is actually pretty long-into a nice big ballerina bun at the top of my head and tied it down with a ribbon the same color as my dress, I knew that her lessons had no use.

A random door opens but it's not the one I want. Eric comments behind his own clipboard, "Relax. Drink a TruBlood."

"I had THREE," I groan as I hold my face in my hands. We had been so nervous when we woke up and my natural color didn't exactly come back so I've been pounding back TruBlood after TruBlood to try and get it back.

"Have another. You still look a bit pale," he says in his signiture disinterested voice that isn't really disinterested but is just focused on other things. I've learned that what ever task is in front of Eric he focuses ONE HUNDRED percent of his attention on it. Good thing as vampires we have like...two hundred percent brain capacity so the other hundred is being split up between what ever takes up space in his mind.

"You look pale," suddenly shoots out of my mouth and his eyes jump up from the clipboard to me as part of his signature super scary look that means he'll kill me even if we are cool now. I cower a little into the booth as I apologize in a quiet voice, "Sorry. I'm just nervous."

The look vanishes and is replaced by squinting eyes that let's me know I'm on his radar for the rest of the evening. He opens his mouth to say something but Pam suddenly calls him from where ever she is and he opens the mysterious door with one final, "We'll continue this later."

I wait until the door is completely closed before I let out a very loud "ugh" I had been holding in as I collapse back onto the table. I'm starting to think I've been away from Godric for so long I don't know how to be with him. I'm just too nervous! I'm not his princess anymore! Pam, SHE'S the real princess. She's cool and calm and collected and nothing rattles her and she always looks good. But me...I'm falling to piece-

I hear the hinges of the door start to move.

My head whips around in time to see it open.

Godric.

I'm in his arms before I know what to do with myself and I'm squeezing him SO tight, tigher than I've ever squeezed any one before. And he's squeezing me back too just as tight, tighter than I've been squeezed in so long and I know I'm going to start crying any second because he smells so good like that Earth and lavander smell I've missed so much and he feels so good and so warm and with my eyes closed I know I'm home and with my arms and my legs around him I know I'm never ever going to let him go, ever, ever again.

But of course that's not true because I can't control myself and I want to look at him!

I let my legs release his waist but they're still in the air because he hasn't let me go yet. I can't help but to laugh as I hang suspended in the air and eventually he starts to laugh too. I pull back a little, keeping my hands on his shoulders, and I look at his face that is so pink and I grin because he's my boy again but now he's my happy boy and he has the biggest smile I've ever seen him have and I blush brightly because I want to kiss him but I don't know if I can do that yet. Instead I reach my hands up to his cheeks and I hold his face in my hands tightly and smile as I rest my forehead against his, "I missed you so much, Godric."

"I missed you as well, Amie. You will never understand the termoil our seperation has caused me, " he whispers in his quiet voice that's just for me and I feel like the butterflies have taken control and I'm flying with the wings I dreamed I had.

I retract my arm a little so that only my fingertips touch his cheek and when I see his eyes lower a little as if the gentle touch gives him so much pleasure I can't stop myself from following the map that is every feature of his face. His eyes close as the pads of my fingers flow along his eyelashes and I know for a fact Godric is my soulmate and I will never love any one as much as I love him. I pull my hand back and brush my nose against his cheek as I reply in the same quiet tone, "I think I have an idea."

He lowers me onto the ground then and as my feet hit the floor my hands fall down his chest and I know he wants to kiss me because his hands are moving to my face but something so crazy catches my attention I have to jump back with a wide-eyed gasp. He asks in alarm, "Is something the matter?"

I shake my head excitedly as I answer, "Leather jacket!"

His face instantly blooms into a very pink, almost red, shade of blush and he nods his head, "It was Isabel and Damien's idea."

"So fantastic!" I can't help but to shout as my hands go crazy over the material and I step back to look at him. Godric is ALWAYS a nice dresser but usually it's nice long sleeved shirts and pants that don't really show too much stuff but NOW! His leather jacket is tight on his arms which shows how big they are and it's such a nice jacket without any of the crazy stuff that Pam and Eric's had on it. And his shirt! My hands jump to his chest and I can't help but to blush the same color of his because I can feel his chest beneath the thin gray material that is tight but not too tight just tighter than I've ever seen him where before. I step back a little and look at his jeans which are dark and nice fitted, not skinny jeans or anything, with dark boots under them which is why I thought he looked a little taller. I look up at him and grin with excited eyes, "You look so wonderful!"

His hand reaches up to my cheek and suddenly I'm pacified and droopy again and he smiles, "I must admit I wanted to impress you but it is I who is impressed. You look so lovely I fear it will be impossible to turn my eyes away."

Godric drops his hand as soon as my fangs appear and I take this second to hide my blushing face into his chest. I hear his laugh-his great and awesome laugh-and if fills the air around me, making all the bad memories of these few days fade away. Wait...these few days...We're still in _Fangtasia_! I spin around and there, just as I thought are Eric and Pam watching us. There was a movement as if Eric's hand had pulled away while Pam's hand still hangs suspened but that can't be. I've never seen them affectionate, it must have been my imagination. But they are not. I cover my face with embarresment but they still have their little secret smiles that lets me know they saw everything.

Eric is the first to act. He comes before Godric and lowers his head and his eyes in submission as he speaks, "Father."

"Son," Godric's voice is soft and comforting although strong and commanding, causing Eric to raise his head.

"Grand-Poppy," Pam chimes so she's not left out in her place still by the back.

I can't help but to laugh as Godric's voice turns serious and underneath agitated, "Pamela."

Instantly me and Eric begin to bombard Godric with questions like: Are you hungry? Are you tired? Do you need to rest? Have you eaten today? Are you alright? Was the trip long? Are you hungry?

Godric lifts up his hand to silence us and we both shut our lips in the same way, like he's pulled the strings on us and we're back to being his dolls. He drops his hand and the strings have been cut but answers, "I am fine. Eric, if you don't mind, I would like to get our business out of the way before we begin our pleasantries."

I frown but Eric nods, looking a little joyful deep down inside, as he speaks, "Of course. I have the blue prints and the business model drawn out in the back room."

I lift my hands slightly so I can fold my arms over my chest so fast and so suddenly Godric's hand rests under my chin as he reassures, "I will return momentarily."

The only thing I can manage is a weak, "Mhm" as I watch him walk to the back room with Eric. I plop down into the nearest chair as I press my hand to my chest and I sigh happily as I close my eyes and feel his hand like it's still there.

"If this is going to continue all night I'd rather you stake me now and take me out of my misery," Pam rolls her eyes as she takes a seat at the booth I had been sitting in before.

I get up to my feet and join her, "You can't blame me, I'm in love!"

"And _that _is the problem," she points at my heart to emphasize her point and my fangs come out involuntarily in frustration. Her own fangs comes out as if to challenge me and I pull mine back into my mouth, "All I'm saying is..have you two...do you know about the birds and the bees?"

"Birds and the bees?" I ask in confusion. We were just talking about 'love' being the cause of all my problems and now she's trying to give me the sex talk?

She pinches the bridge of her nose, causing her glasses to go up, as she mumbles something to herself about needing a big raise for this. She lowers her hands and looks at me, "When a man and a woma- well, in your cause, when a boy and a girl love each othe-"

I shove my hands over my ears and shout, "I've already had this conversation!"

Pam sighs with relief as she pushes her straight hair out of her face, "Good. Well..have you and Godric had se-"

"Shhh!" I hiss, looking to the door and hoping it's thick enough to keep this conversation out from his ears. I shake my head and whisper, "No!"

She leans in as I do and she hisses in return, "I'm only doing this to help you. Godric, despite his prepubesent appearance, is a two thousand year old man. There are certain needs a man has and he expects them to be met."

"Needs?" I ask, my eyebrows raising at the thought of Godric being like those men Nelson who would bring a stick to bang against every bar as he decided who 'satisfy his needs' that day.

"Yes, _needs_. Everyone has them, women however have far craftier ways of getting their needs met. For example," she gazes off to the distance as she licks her lips, "everytime Eric and I introduce our birds and bees it's always under his suggestion."

My face goes red and I cover my eyes trying not to imagine Eric and Pam kissing or holding hands or doing anything like she described. I shake my head quickly as I groan, "Please don't say anymore. I'm going to throw up."

"It's perfectly normal for a Maker and his Progeny to sustain a sexual relationship," Pam continues but I shake my head to shut her up. "Fine. I'll end it there, you understand what I'm gettin' at though. Now, Eric and I won't be home for another seven hours. Some important bureaucratic blah, blah, blah about our unethical use of blah, blah, blah. Anywhere, there's a nice little number in the back of your closet."

"Goodness, Pam!" I can't help but to squeak as I imagine what her 'little number' will consist of.

Pam smirks, pressing her fingers to her lips as she gives a quiet giggle, "My suggestion is that you make the first move before you get hit by surprised."

The door opens at that point and I hide my face because I can't even imagine looking at Godric with the idea of 'making the first move' still fresh in my mind. Eric and Godric speak in the other language that him and Pam had been speaking in before and now Pam even joins in. I peak up at them and see they all look serious and it's then that I realize why Pam has us all dressed so businessie. Eric has the last word in that language before he looks between Godric and me and says, "Pam and I must attend a meeting for the next few hours. A car is waiting outside to take you both to the estate."

Godric turns backward to Eric and nods his head as he says, "Thank you very much, Eric. Amie. Shall we?"

Pam gives me a look and I roll my eyes as a feeling of absolute dread comes over me. I step away from the booth and walk to Godric's side, making sure not to look at Pam or Eric because our last conversation is still so fresh in my mind. Godric's hand reaches out to mine and reluctantly I give it to him. He holds the door open for me and all it takes is a noise from Pam to make me run out of the place with Godric behind me.

The door shuts and I already know he's going to ask if somethings wrong so I rush back to his side and hold his strong arm between both of mine. I rest my head up against his shoulder and sigh, "I'm so happy you're here with me now. I thought I'd never see you again."

"There was never a chance we wouldn't be reunited," he insists as we walk to the car in front of us and he opens the back door. I scoot inside quickly and Godric joins me and we're back to the closeness we had on our trip here. My right hand stays interlocked with his left while his right hand rests on top of both of ours. My free left hand traces the back of his fingers and when I do I can feel his eyes on me but I'm too nervous to look up and confirm it.

When we get to the estate Godric takes his time to pull away from me but more than anything I just want to leave the car. I follow him out but make sure never to stray away from him too far. Inside the house we wait just before the staircase and I can feel the nervousness fill the air. This isn't our home and we don't really know what to do. I look up at Godric and smile wide, "Do you want to see my room?"

There's a spark of excitement inside of his eyes as he nods, "Yes, I would love to."

"It's just over here, come on!" I grin, grabbing his hand and pulling him up the stairs. I can't help but to laugh to myself, thinking of how different it is now than when I had been storming down just the other day. I guide him to the room and I throw it open with joy, turning it around as I shout, "Voila!"

His eyes zoom in like darts on the heals in the wall. He walks over to them and pulls one out with an amused expression, "Another one of Pamela's experiments?"

I shake my head, blushing with embarrasment as I look down, "No. I did that. I apologized already but Pam said she's going to keep it there forever so that when I'm a lot older I'll remember the silly things I did when I was this age."

He gives a little nod of his head like he's giving Pam some mental credit as he places the heal back into it's hole in the wall. He runs his finger over the lightbulbs that line the vanity mirror and I can't help but to watch his reflextion and how the light plays across his features. How I wish to be that light.

_There are certain needs a man has..._suddenly plays across my mind..._and he expects them to be met._

"Godric, close your eyes," I command in a little voice that doesn't question his authority. I watch in the mirror as his eyes shut at the same time a smile crosses his face. I rush to the closet and look for the outfit Pam said was hidden in the back of the other clothes but it isn't hung up.

It's in a little box that's red and tied up and smaller than I would expect. I pull on the bow and open the box so I can see the 'little number.' It's not as crazy as I thought it would be. It's a nice and lavander little dress that's a little see-through and shorter than all the other dresses I have ever worn before. I change into it, making sure not to ruin my hair as I do. I look at the mirror behind the door and give myself a little thumbs up. I try not to think Pam or Jolie or Nelson and his men or Castles and his.

No.

It's just me and Godric tonight.


	31. Chapter 31

I open the door as slowly as I can but the hinges, although very new, still squeak to inform him that I'm coming out. I peak around the door and blush as I see his eyes are on me while he sits on the edge of the bed with his leather jacket on the chair in front of him . I snap with narrowed eyes, "I didn't say you could look yet, Godric!"

His hands rush to cover his eyes, causing me to laugh as I step out of the closet. I shut the door by leaning against it, deciding that's it's definitely something Pam would do in this scenario. Godric's hands slightly lower but he doesn't peak yet as he asks, "May I open?"

I bite my lip as I nod my head but then I remember he can't see me because his eyes are closed. I want to sound cool but a simple and plain 'yes' isn't 'cool' so I decide then to resort to my French since it is the 'language of love.' I swallow quietly as I answer,_ "Yes."_

His eyes open at a regular pace but once they fix onto my appearance he begins to blink rapidly and so much blood rushes to his face I'm afraid his head is going to explode. I take this as a good sign until his eyes slam back shut and he turns his face away, "A-Amiena, what are yo-?"

_"Godric, it's okay; you don't have to be shy anymore,"_ I say as I walk to the bed and take the seat beside him,_ "You're two thousand years old. I know there are certain needs that you have and expect to be met."_

I reach my hands up to his wrists slowly like two little snakes in a garden waiting to strike. I pull with only slight force and like a lock that has been opened his hands fall down his face, but still he doesn't look at me. Instead he stammers (in French), _"Amiena, I don't know what has come over you or what you may have heard howev-"_

"_Shhhhhh_," I whisper as I lean in to kiss him but I fall onto the bed and I see that he's standing with his face beat red and his hand covering his mouth. I stand straight up like a rocket and scream, "You don't want me?!"

"Amiena!" he shouts in his angry voice but I don't bother listening. Instead I torpedo to the closet and I slam the door shut behind me as loud as I possibly can and begin pulling off the stupid 'number' and putting on my comfortable pajamas, "Amiena, I will _**not**_ stand for this behavior!"

"Well take a seat!" I yell behind the door and instantly I regret it because I can feel his fury building inside of me and I know if I continue I'm going to get into BIG trouble. But I'm so upset! He rejected me! "How can I not behave this way when you're rejecting me! What?! Is it because I'm not pretty enough!? Is it because I'm not the daughter of some political leader?! Is it because I'm not the Queen of England?!"

"Where did you hear this?" he hisses and I know he is REALLY angry and I know if I don't explain myself Eric is going to get into a lot of trouble.

"At the party! I heard you talking in the phone to Eric and I heard him say it and I heard you not deny it and then I heard him ask what's different about me and you know what you said?!" I shout at the top of my lungs.

"What did I say?!" I'm taken slightly back by the fact that he is shouting just as loudly as I am when usually he is always so calm and well-mannered, even when ripping someone's head off.

"Well...," I begin because I really don't know what he said but I can't say that. I'm still angry, "I don't know what you said but I know it wasn't good!"

"Yes!" he shouts as if he just picked the winning raffle ticket, "Of course!"

I slam the door open but I'm too sad to scream or anything so instead I ask between my quivering lips that are moving so that my tears don't, "Really?!"

A heavy sigh leaves Godric's lips and I can see in his eyes that I must be the most pitiful thing he has ever seen. Before I blink his arms are around me and he's holding me against his chest as he shakes his head, "No. 'I love her,' that was my answer. That was the difference but not the only one. I continued to sing your praises to him, I informed him of how kind you are, how loving, sweet, innocent, and trusting you can be. How _unassuming_."

"Well, there, you're wrong. If you're wrong about one thing then you must be wrong about everything because I am _very_ assuming, Godric. You don't know the half of it," I cry although I snuggle into his chest and am very happy about everything he is saying.

I feel the anger inside of him dissipate as the seconds tick by but he doesn't say anything and that scares me a whole lot. Maybe I've finally convinced him he's too good for me. I pull so that I can leave him alone but he grabs onto my face, wiping away my tears as he gives me a weak smile and explains, "There are aspects of each other that have yet to come forth, Amie. And that includes our bodies and what we have and will do with them. But just because we are still a mystery to one another does not mean that we are not in love. I have denied you this evening, not because you are unattractive-it is fact that we all know you are-but because there is no need to rush. We have the rest of our long lives for evenings dedicated to discovering parts of each other that have before been unseen."

I can't help but to blush imagining these 'evenings dedicated to discovering' but instead of hiding my face I roll my eyes upward at him with a smile and sigh, "Well, when you put it that way."

Godric laughs his wonderful laugh that forces me to do the same as he brings me in again for a tight embrace and this time I don't pull away. He smiles, "I knew you would understand."

"Yup. I'm very understanding, you know," I agree jokingly, making sure to hug him a little tighter while we're pressed together like this.

"Besides, I find you much sexier when you have monkeys on your shirt," he teases in that way that makes me blush so bright I don't even know what to with myself.

I push him away as roughly as I can which in fact isn't that rough because he's still two thousand years older than me but I do manage to snap with narrowed eyes, "Shut it this instant, mister. You still have to be nice to me you left me here all alone with Eric and Pam and no idea what I was getting into."

He puts on his innocent act but his smirk is unmistakable, "I apologize but I was under the impression you enjoyed surprises."

I shake my head, scrunching up my face so I can look really mad although I'm really not, "I like good surprises not horrible mean ones. You should have seen how they greeted me. Wait! You can! Sit down!"

I push him back toward the bed as I grab the camera still hanging on the door knob and rush to his side. I focus on turning on the camera but I still blush as I feel his fingers push behind a lock of hair that had fallen from my bun, "Be gentle with it, Amie, I'm almost positive you crushed it when you slammed the door."

He knows what his teasing does to me but still he continues and I let him win. I want to shake my head but with his hand there it's almost impossible for me to. Instead I show him that the camera is working with a humph and then I turn to all the way to my first picture of him.

"You should delete that photo," he comments, absentmindedly leaning into me because I purposely keep the camera on my lap.

"But it's my favorite one," I protest, glancing over at him because I can hear that his breathing has become a little odd although he's hiding it so well. I wonder then for the first time if he knows how handsome he is. Sure, he tells me I'm pretty and beautiful all the time but I haven't said anything to him about his appearance except how good he looks today. I guess I always just assumed he knew. I rest my chin on his shoulder as I say, "You're the magnificent thing I've ever seen in my life, Godric."

"That's only because your life has just begun," his eyes are cast down at the picture but I can see that he's not focusing on it. His mind is a million miles away while his blue eyes are here and still like placid lakes. He reaches forward and presses the next button. I laugh as his eyes grow wide at the big picture that is before him, "Who is this?"

"Her name is Molly and she is so nice. She talked to me on the plane ride here and she made me laugh. She has a daughter named MJ and that's short for Molly Jr. _and_ she has a husband named Taggart. She showed me a picture of them and they are so pretty, you know I should have taken a picture of that. Maybe next time. Oh, that guy there, he's the pilot and he's so nice too. And here I am!"

"Beautiful," he chimes in, making me blush brightly as I look down at the picture of me smiling. I roll my eyes as I look up at him and skip to the next picture. His eyes grow wide, "Amie, how is that possible?"

I grin widely, "Yup! That's me! I'm flying the plane! Bob, the pilot, let me do it. Oh and look! He made me a pilot in training!"

I rush to my bag and I bring it back to show him the gold pin that I have on the strap that goes over my chest. He runs his finger over the wings and smiles proudly at me, "That is truly a remarkable feat."

The gold wing shines in the light and I nod my head with joy, "Yeah, it was. It's one of the coolest things I've ever done. Oh and now the picture of Pam and Eric."

I press next and there's the picture that started it all. I can't help but to laugh now as I look at them because the memory of how scary they were is still fresh in my mind. Godric nods his head as he sighs sympathetically, "That was a very warm welcoming, I must admit. Oh, you don't look very pleased."

A laugh escapes my lips as I look at the picture of me in my jammies. I don't look very pleased there, I look absolutely miserable. I press the next button and look and smile happily, "That's Ginger. She was really sweet to me, even though we weren't supposed to really talk to each other because it was one of the rules. But it wasn't her fault, she didn't know who I was. And HERE is Lisa and Joy and they were so funny. They asked to see my fangs and they took my picture and it was so cool. Oh, and here are the nicest and coolest people I've ever met. See this is Sam and he owns this place called _Merlotte's_ and he told me in secret that he's a shifter but I don't really know what that is but anyway he told me he can turn into animals and I asked if he could turn into a dog but then he started blushing and he said no because no one else knows he's a shifter. And this is Tara and she's the bartender and her and Sam are going out although it's not really 'official.' I like Tara because while Sam's really sweet she's kind of...not mean but...she just needs time to warm up to people and when she does she's really sweet too. And this is her cousin Lafayette and he's REALLY funny and he just yells at random things at everyone and it's so funny to see their reactions. And this is Terry! Him and Lafayette are the people that make the food but Terry's really shy because he just got back from the army. And this is Arlene and boy, the things I can tell you about her! OH! And this is Hoyt and he's like a big baby giraffe that just learned how to walk, it's so funny to see him move around. And this is Rene, he's Alrene's boyfriend. And THIS is Jason and he's the coolest person ever. Like ever, him and his sister Sooki- oh man. I didn't get a picture of Sookie. But it's okay. Next time. Anyway, I wish you could meet these people because they are so awesome and you would love them and then there's just a few more of them doing some silly thing- that, that actually was so funny because Lafayette was showing me how jumpy Arlene can be and she had her back turned and he just tapped her back and I took a picture and she just JUMPED. Anyway that's all the pictures I have so far."

"You have a gift of capturing moments," Godric comments, taking the camera from my hand so he can look through the photos himself. "I just have one question. Where's Pa-"

"Godric, your pressing too hard!" I gasp as I pull his fingers from the camera and take it back into my hold so I can shut it off. Of course I'm lying but I have no real answer for his question and maybe I can get him to forget it before he gets stuck on it.

He blushes lightly, very lightly as he looks up at me, "I apologize. I suppose it isn't in our blood to take good care of our belongings."

"You take very good care of me," I whisper as I lean my chin on his shoulder and look up at him. Being this close the only thing I can really see is his skin, part of his lips that are closed like they're trying to keep something in, a part of his nose maybe.

I expect him to move a little, try to get comfortable or to look at me, but he doesn't do a thing. He stays still in his position with hands open on his lap as if they're still holding the camera I had taken away. I wait a few seconds for something, anything and then he gives it to me. I peak at the mirror and see he is looking at me in the reflection of it and he has that look that makes me feel all tingly all over the place. He looks away for some reason as he denies it with, "I beg to differ."

"You can't do that in my room," I say as I gently place my camera on the floor. With my hands free I take the two fingers of my right hand and tip-toe them across his lap until they rest on the back of his.

To my surprise his fingers act like booby-traps and they lift up, snaring my fingers and even getting hold of all the other ones too. I scrunch my face up in a defeated way and turn my face in to kiss his shoulder lightly although I'm not sure if I can because I know he said he wants to take it slow. Godric lowers his head against mine and I feel his lips kiss the top of my head as he wins again but still I can't help but to smile because I can just imagine my bun against his forehead. I hear him sigh against my head and then he sighs my name in a little quiet whisper that makes me feel like I'm being filled with air, "Amie..."

I lift my head slightly so I can rest my chin onto his shoulder again. I displace his face in the process and now I feel his chin on top of my head and I imagine if we were humans if would be very uncomfortable. I pull away a little but only enough so that his face falls against mine like a puzzle piece fitting with another. I want to blush because with our noses against each other our lips are so close but I don't want to ruin any part of this moment. I let my eyes flash up slightly and I know they tickle his face because of the little lift in the corner of his mouth. His eyes are closed but even behind them I can see he is looking at me. I ask in a little voice, "Yes, Godric?"

"You make me feel so human," he says to my surprise.

I can't help but to laugh at that and I respond, "But, Godric, we're vampires."

He smiles warmly then, with his eyes still closed and his face still next to mine. He nods his head and I can see he's my boy again, "I know."

I raise up my hands and push on his chest so he can fall backwards onto my bed. I laugh again because he falls so effortlessly like he had always planned to but he was just waiting for the right time to do it. I lay down beside him and curl up into the small spot between his arm and his side and he holds me like I've wanted him to since the second I left on the plane. I rest my hand on top of his chest but it doesn't really rest. Instead it caresses up and down his thin shirt and I say is name in the same way he said mine, "Godric..."

"Yes?" he asks in less than a second and I have to actively hide a laugh that I want to let go so bad.

I get comfortable in his security, making sure he's holding me really, really, really tight-there's no question that he is. I look up at Godric, turning my head ALL the way back so I can see him as I say, "I think we're going to be in love forever."

"Did you ever doubt the fact?" his question sounds so sincere, not like the other times when he sounded like he was just humoring me.

I nod my head, keeping myself focused on my fingers that do more of my talking for me, "Yeah...sometimes I think you're going to leave me. Godric...would you ever release me?"

"Where did you hear that word?" he suddenly hisses in a very angry voice that scares me to the point I pull my hand back and hide it inside my chest.

"I-I don't know, I just heard it!" I lie but I don't know if I sound very convincing or not because he gets up from the bed and sits down at the edge like he had before. "Forget I asked!"

"No," he says in his angry voice and I feel so horrible because I upset him but I don't even know how or why. "Amiena, where did you hear that word?"

"Someone at _Fangtasia_ was saying that they released their pr-"

"Tell me the truth!" he commands in the voice that makes my blood jump and take action.

I try to cover my mouth because I don't want Eric to get in trouble but I have no control, "That night I broke Eric's rules Eric said I was I shamed your very name and if you were here you would release me at once!"

His eyes grow wide with anger and I start to cry because I can't believe that I'm going to get Eric into trouble after we just became friends!

"Please! Don't be mean to him! I said really horrible things and I deserved it! We were just fighting! Brothers and sisters do it all the time! We made up! Please! If you yell at him he will never want to be my friend and we just became friends! He said he was happy I was his sister!" I sob, grabbing onto his shirt so he won't leave and go hurt Eric while he's in the middle of his important meeting. He seems to calm suddenly but it's only because I realize then that I'm crying so hard.

"Amie," he says in a tone that sounds so confused like he wants to be mad but he can't bring himself to be, "I find it impossible to understand the reason for this outburst but you must accept that I will not always bend to your will as soon as you find it beneficial to cry."

I shake my head as I continue to cry despite his accusation, "I don't want you to bend to my will but please...I'm so tired of violence and yelling and we have a peace now. We all have an understanding with each other and I don't know why you have to get so angry when you're the one that yelled at me in the first place. If anything he was only following _your _lead."

"**Amiena, that is enough**," his voice is deep and frightening and it fills into me like he's taking hold of the strings without actually using them quite yet.

I keep my mouth shut as I lower my head. I'm so stupid. I slump forward slightly and rest the side of my head against his shoulder as I wrap my arms around him weakly, "I'm sorry, Godric. I was overreacting. I'm sorry for how disrespectful I just was and I'm sorry for trying to talk you out to what ever it is you have set in your mind. It's your decision how you deal with Eric but I have to admit that if gets punished then I have to get punished too. You know how mean I was and how mean we were to each other but what you don't know is I punched him in the you-know-what but that's not the point. We have both apologized for our behavior but if you still find what we have done unacceptable then I totally understand."

"That was very mature of you," he says in a voice that still sounds like it's deliberating between acting or not. I'm on pins and needles until I feel his hand come up and lightly rub my arm and it's then that I know I've convinced him to go back to being calm. "I will never release you, Amie. You are mine, forever, and it will always remain that way regardless of your..."

"Childlike notions?" I offer.

He smiles softly and nods, turning his head down to look at me, "Yes. Regardless of your childlike notions. Do you understand?"

I look into his eyes, his soft endless waters, and nod my head, "Yes, I understand."

"Good," he whispers before suddenly dropping backward so fast I drop on top of him and get stuck with my arms around his shoulders, making me laugh so hard I can't remember why I was cry just seconds before. Which isn't really that's true, it's more like...making me laugh so hard I don't want to remember why I was crying just seconds before.

"Godric, how do you turn someone into a vampire?" I ask because I know it's not that serious of a question and since we were on the topic of releasing and all I would like to know.

"Are you planning on transforming your new companions?" he asks in his teasing way but I can't help but to think of Randy dead...really, really dead and not just kind of dead like me.

I shake my head, digging my face into his chest although I know it will get his shirt dirty. I'll just make a mental note to ask Isabel if she can get more just like it, "No. I'm just curious."

"It's simple and yet complex in the same instance. In order to transform a human into a vampire you must drain them almost completely of their blood so that your own may replace it. Once the entirety of the human's blood is replaced, the body must be buried in the earth for at least 72 hours, 48 of which must be under your supervision," he explains and when I peak up at him in the middle his eyes are far away again like he's either remembering when he turned me or Eric or maybe he's remembering both at the same time. "I do not advise you consider this responsibility in the slightest bit. You do remember how when I explained our re-"

"I do," I interrupt, blushing as I remember each of the words he said. I lay my head down on his chest and hold him tight while he shifts so that he can hold me too. I ask, just because I'm in the mood to ask, "Do you think there have been any vampires that have went to the moon?"

"Actually, there is speculation that Buzz Aldrin was a member among our species, however I highly doubt the fact that any vampire may survive in space. Although true, we do not require oxygen, the intensity of the sun's rays, as well as many of the nearby stars may just in fact be enough to harm us," he answers, his eyes narrowing like he's looking through the ceiling to the stars themself.

"And what about the ocean?" I continue, "You know, I heard we know more about space than we do about our oceans."

"Do you recall the names Davy Jones, Ponce De Leon, Amerigo Vespucci?" He asks and I nod my head because I like hearing him talk without having to interrupt. Plus I know he can feel me move my head on his chest, "Well members of the vampiric race and all explored great depths of the ocean. I believe Davy Jones met the True Death some time in 1741 however I believe Ponce De Leon is still alive. The where abouts of Amerigo Vespucci are still unknown."

"About you, Godric? Have you ever explored the ocean?" I can just imagine him in the ocean swimming so deep down where no one else can go like a mer-man or something cool like that.

He smirks softly before turning his eyes down to me, "Would you like to hear the story of how I came to reside in the New World?"

I perk up excitedly and nod my eagerly, "Yes! Please!"

Godric laughs softly, getting comfortable by pulling me in closer and kissing the top of my head just once before he begins, "Well, it all began at the heart of the black plague..."


End file.
